SB    SM    flMfl 


TOPICAL  DISCUSSION  OF 
AMERICAN   HISTORY 


PREPARED  FOR  USE  IN 


THE    ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS 


BY 


W.  C.  DOUB,  A.B. 

(Stanford  University) 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS  FOR  KERN  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA 


SAN   FRANCISCO 
THE  WHITAKER  AND  RAY  COMPANY 

(incorporated) 

1900 


Copyright,  1900 

BY 

W.  C.  Doub 


ADOPTED 

BEFOEE  PUBLICATION 

BY  THE  KERN  COUNTY  BOAED  OP  EDUCATION 

AND  MADE 

THE  BASIS   OP  ALL  THE  HISTORY   WORK 

IN  THE 

GRAMMAR   SCHOOLS   OF 

KERN  COUNTY 


Publisher's  Note— Owing  to  the  hurry  in  getting  out  this, 
the  first  edition,  the  following  mistakes  have  occurred,  viz: 
Line    i,  page  32,  the  date  1775  should  be  1755. 
Line  28,  page  49,  the  date  1777  should  be  1787. 
Line  30,  page  49,  the  date  1777  should  be  1787. 


54 a 633 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 5 

PREFACE    7 

EXPLANATORY  AND  SUGGESTIVE 11 

SEVENTH-YEAR  WORK 15 

Conditions  Favorable  to  the  Discovery  of  America  .  15 

Discoveries  and  Explorations 16 

Disposition  of  Territory  in  the  New  World  ....  17 

North  American  Indians 13 

Origin  and  Growth  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies   ...  18 

Colonization  of  New  France 26 

Relation  of  the  Indians  and  the  Colonists  ....  27 
Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  of  the  Colonists  in 

1700 27 

French  and  Indian  War 30 

Institutional  Life  in  the  Colonies  in  1775     ....  33 

The  Revolutionary  War 41 

Government  During  the  Revolution,  and  Prior  to  the 

Adoption  of  the  Present  Constitution      ....  46 

The  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787 49 

EIGHTH-YEAR  WORK 53 

Government  in  the  United  States 53 

Washington's  Administration 55 

Adams'  Administration 60 

Jefferson's  Administration 61 

Madison's  Administration 63 

Monroe's  Administration 65 

John  Quincy  Adams'  Administration   .......  68 

Progress  of  the  United  States  from  1790  to  1825  .     .  69 

Jackson's  and  Van  Buren's  Administrations  ....  72 

Administrations  of  Harrison,  Tyler,  and  Polk  ...  77 
Administrations  of  Taylor,  Fillmore,  Pierce,  and  Bu- 
chanan        79 

Lincoln's  Administration .  81 

The  Political  History  of   the    United  States   from 

1865  to  1900       ..............  96 

Progress  of  the  United  States  since  1865      .     ...  104 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

The  Topical  Discussion  of  American  History  prepared 
by  Superintendent  Doub  is  thoroughly  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  of  the  times.  It  is  a  product  of  the  general 
feeling  among  progressive  educators  that  history  should 
cease  to  be  a  mere  exercise  in  memory  gymnastics,  and 
become  a  genuine  study  of  human  life  and  experience. 
In  the  grammar  school,  as  well  as  in  the  high  school  or 
the  university,  history  should  be  so  presented  that  man 
is  ever  seen  to  be  its  real  object.  It  should  never  for  a 
single  moment  be  lost  sight  of,  that,  while  the  right  study 
of  history  affords  a  training  for  the  reason  and  the  judg- 
ment scarcely  rivaled  by  that  gained  from  any  other 
source,  yet  its  chief  subject-matter  is  man  in  his  political 
and  other  social  relations.  It  is  the  things  which  are 
really  important  in  human  progress,  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  that  one  wishes  to  know.  Lists  of  dates,  and 
genealogical  tables  of  royal  or  noble  personages,  are  not 
so  helpful  to  the  youth  preparing  himself  for  citizenship 
as  a  knowledge  of  the  institutions  of  his  country  and 
state,  or  even  of  his  county,  village,  or  school  district. 

The  conviction  is  deepening,  that  history  cannot  be 
best  taught  through  the  use  of  one  book.  The  element 
of  comparison  is  the  vital  principle  of  right  historical 
study.  Even  the  best  single  text-book  is  not  so  good  as 
topical  reading  in  several  works.  Already  this  is  con- 
ceded to  be  true  for  the  high  school;  and  surely,  within 
proper  limits,  it  is  just  as  true  for  the  lower  grades.  In 
all  departments  of  the  public  schools,  teachers  are  making 
the  grave  mistake  of  placing  before  their  pupils  too  weak 


6  INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

food.  They  should  serve  stronger  meat.  Teachers  under- 
estimate the  intellectual  capacity  of  those  whom  they 
are  attempting  to  lead.  Place  before  the  boy  or  girl 
interesting  and  really  valuable  material,  though  perhaps 
such  as  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  attractive  only  to 
older  minds,  and  it  is  surprising  with  what  avidity  it  is 
seized  and  mastered. 

Without  a  proper  training  one  cannot  hope  for  the 
best  results.  To  teach  history  well,  one  must  know  his- 
tory. Yet  in  the  grammar  and  in  the  elementary  schools 
the  teacher  cannot  always  be  a  specialist.  Should  his 
salary  and  other  conditions  not  warrant  a  preparation 
such  as  he  would  be  glad  to  obtain,  he  can  always  have 
the  next  best  thing.  He  can  provide  himself  with  some 
of  the  most  suggestive  helps.  The  day  is  past  when  the 
grammar  school  teacher's  knowledge  of  history  should 
be  confined  to  the  meager  scraps  gathered  in  a  text-book. 
If  he  cannot  have  access  to  a  good  library,  he  may,  at 
any  rate,  own  one  or  two  standard  treatises  for  constant 
reference  in  each  field  of  study.  Then  there  are  valuable 
professional  aids  which  he  cannot  afford  to  do  without. 
Thus  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Seven,  Hart's 
Source-Book,  and  the  Old  South  Leaflets  should  be  in 
every  hand. 

George  Elliott  Howard. 

Stanford  University, 
July  26,  1900. 


PREFACE 

History  as  now  taught  in  the  elementary  schools  is 
largely  a  process  of  memory.  The  pupil  is  required  to 
devote  practically  all  of  the  time  which  is  given  to  the 
subject  to  the  memorizing  of  dates  and  events.  The 
unity  and  development  of  the  subject,  the  causes  and 
results  of  different  movements,  the  influence  of  past  con- 
ditions upon  the  present,  are  almost  entirely  lost  sight 
of.  When  the  subject  is  completed,  in  place  of  an  under- 
standing of  its  real  scope  and  significance,  there  remains 
to  the  pupil  but  a  mere  skeleton  of  the  history  studied. 
The  few  dates  and  unconnected  events  which  may  be 
remembered  are  practically  worthless,  either  as  mental 
training  or  as  preparation  for  citizenship.  American 
history,  if  properly  taught  in  the  elementary  schools, 
should  be  an  invaluable  preparation  for  American  citizen- 
ship. Without  a  real  understanding  of  the  development 
of  our  institutions,  one  is  not  in  a  position  to  vote  in- 
telligently upon  many  of  the  leading  issues  of  the  day. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  public  schools  to  give  to  this 
republic,  as  a  part  of  the  price  of  their  existence,  boys 
and  girls  possessing  a  knowledge  and  understanding  of 
the  social,  industrial,  political,  and  constitutional  develop- 
ment of  the  United  States.  Because  of  an  understanding 
of  the  issues  of  the  day,  and  of  a  patriotism  derived 
largely  from  an  honest  study  of  the  important  facts  of 
our  national  growth,  they  will  have  the  moral  courage  to 
vote  and  act  as  their  judgment  dictates. 

The  object  of  this  little  volume  is  to  secure  a  better 
consideration   of   American   history  in   the   elementary 


8  PREFACE 

schools  than  it  receives  at  the  present  time.  The  volume 
has  been  called  "  A  Topical  Discussion  of  American 
History"  because  it  differs  essentially  from  a  mere  out- 
line in  that  most  of  the  important  points  are  discussed 
and  summarized.  From  an  examination  of  the  teaching 
of  history  in  the  elementary  schools,  the  conclusion  has 
been  forced  upon  me,  that,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
at  institutes  and  educational  meetings,  educators  are 
constantly  agitating  the  question  of  a  topical  method  of 
teaching  the  subject,  and  that  a  number  of  outlines  in 
American  history  embodying  the  principles  of  that 
method  have  been  prepared  for  use  in  the  elementary 
schools,  very  little  has  been  done  in  applying  the  method. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  outlines  already 
prepared  do  not  meet  the  actual  requirements  and  needs 
of  our  schools.  As  a  rule,  the  references  cited  are  not 
available  for  the  use  either  of  teacher  or  pupil,  and  the 
outlines  are  too  meager.  In  fact,  they  seem  to  presume 
that  the  teacher  in  the  elementary  school  has  had  the 
advantage  of  a  college  or  university  training  in  history 
and  historical  method. 

In  preparing  the  "Topical  Discussion  of  American 
History"  the  constant  aim  has  been  to  overcome  the 
above-mentioned  defects.  The  authorities  referred  to  are 
within  the  reach  of  the  pupils  in  the  elementary  schools. 
The  more  difficult  topics — in  fact,  nearly  all  of  the  sub- 
jects mentioned — have  been  discussed  in  such  a  way  as 
to  indicate  to  the  pupil  and  to  the  teacher  their  true 
relation  and  importance  in  history.  In  the  development 
of  each  topic,  and  in  the  selection  of  the  words  used  in 
each  discussion,  there  has  been  a  constant  regard  for  the 
age  and  ability  of  the  pupil, — the  manner  of  treat- 
ment and  the  words  used  becoming  more  difficult  as  the 
work  in  the  two-years'  study  of  American  history  pro- 


PREFACE  y 

gresses.  Many  minor  events  considered  unimportant, 
and  which  are  found  in  the  average  orthodox  text,  have 
been  purposely  omitted,  the  object  having  been  to  select 
only  such  topics  as  have  some  real  bearing  on  the  growth 
of  American  institutions. 

In  working  out  many  of  the  details  of  this  book, 
valuable  assistance  has  been  received  from  D.  W.  Nelson, 
city  superintendent  of  the  Bakersfield  schools,  and  from 
Charles  F.  Wright,  teacher  of  history  and  political  science 
in  the  Kern  County  High  School.  Information  con- 
cerning any  error,  as  well  as  any  suggestions  which  will 
make  this  book  more  valuable  to  pupils  and  to  teachers, 
will  be  thankfully  received. 

W.  C.  Doub. 

Bakeesfield,  California, 
July  17, 1900. 


EXPLANATORY   AND   SUGGESTIVE. 

I 

Only  the  following  authorities  have  been  referred  to 
in  this  topical  discussion:  History  of  the  United  States, 
California  State  Series;  School  History  of  the  United 
States,  McMaster;  The  Colonies,  Thwaites;  Formation 
of  the  Union,  Hart;  Division  and  Reunion,  Wilson, 
the  last  three  mentioned  forming  a  set  of  books  com- 
monly known  as  Epochs  of  American  History.1  The 
California  State  History  is  referred  to,  not  because  of  its 
value  as  a  text-book,  for  as  a  text-book  it  possesses  very 
little  merit,  but  because  it  is  the  only  text-book  on  the 
subject  which  can  be  legally  used  in  the  elementary 
school  of  California.  It  is  suggested  that  to  meet  this 
condition  in  California,  some  pupils  be  requested  to  pur- 
chase copies  of  McMaster's  History  instead  of  the  State 
History,  and  that  a  part  of  the  library  money  be  used  to 
place  copies  of  McMaster's  History  and  of  the  Epochs  of 
American  History  in  the  school  library.  This  plan  has 
been  tried  in  Kern  County,  and  it  has  furnished  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  reference  books  to  successfully  carry  out 
the  work  in  history  as  outlined  in  this  book,  and  in  the 
other  subjects  similarly  treated.  In  the  country  districts 
about  one  half  of  the  library  money  has  proven  sufficient 
to  purchase  the  required  reference  books  in  the  subjects 
of  History,  Geography,  and  Reading.     In  cities  it  will  be 

1  In  case  either  teacher  or  pupil  desires  to  make  a  fuller  inves- 
tigation of  any  subject  than  is  possible  from  the  above-mentioned 
works,  the  tables  of  references  given  at  the  beginning  of  each 
chapter  in  the  Epoch  Series  will  prove  to  be  of  valuable  assistance. 


V2  EXPLANATORY    AND    SUGGESTIVE 

found  necessary  to  induce  the  pupil  to  purchase  some  of 
the  books.  If  the  State  History  alone  must  be  used 
much  better  results  will  be  secured  by  using  this,  or  a  simi- 
lar topical  discussion,  than  can  be  secured  without  its  use. 

II 

The  use  of  this  topical  discussion  in  connection  with 
the  State  History  alone  should  prove  quite  beneficial;  its 
use  in  connection  with  McMaster's  History  should  give 
rise  to  still  better  results;  its  use  in  connection  with  both 
McMaster's  History  and  the  Epochs  of  American  History 
should  bring  about  excellent  results.  Other  histories  can 
be  used  in  connection  with  the  work  herein  outlined  with 
equally  good  results.  McMaster's  School  History  of  the 
United  States  and  Epochs  of  American  History  have 
been  specifically  referred  to  because  they  are  being  ex- 
tensively used  with  most  beneficial  results  in  the  schools 
of  Kern  County.  No  book  with  less  merit,  however, 
than  McMaster's  History  should  be  in  the  hands  of  each 
pupil,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  secure  a  history  which 
will  prove  the  equal  of  the  Epochs  of  American  History 
for  reference  in  grammar-school  work. 

Ill 

A  few  of  the  subjects  have  not  been  discussed;  merely 
a  bare  outline  has  been  given.  This  has  been  done  in 
order  to  give  the  pupil  an  opportunity  for  securing  some 
training  in  arriving  at  generalizations  with  no  other  as- 
sistance than  can  be  gained  from  the  reading  of  the 
authorities  cited. 

IV 

This  topical  discussion  has  been  prepared  primaril} 
for  the  teacher,  but  its  use  in  the  hands  of  the  pupil  will 
be  found  to  be  of  great  value.     If  the  pupil  does  not  pos- 


EXPLANATORY    AND    SUGGESTIVE  13 

sess  a  copy,  he  should  be  required,  when  a  topic  is 
assigned,  to  write  out  in  full  the  discussion  there  given, 
and  to  make  a  note  of  the  references  there  cited.  This 
should  be  done  in  a  note-book,  and  the  pupil  should 
follow  the  statement  of  the  topic  by  a  careful  summary 
of  important  facts  and  material  derived  from  his  own 
reading  of  the  authorities  mentioned.  Pupils  who  pos- 
sess copies  of  this  book  should,  nevertheless,  keep  careful 
note-books  embodying  the  results  of  their  individual 
reading  upon  different  subjects. 

V 

The  teacher  should  take  care  that  no  more  work  be 
assigned  for  one  lesson  than  the  average  pupil  can  thor- 
oughly master.  But  twenty-eight  general  topics  have 
been  given  for  the  two  years  of  work.  On  some  of  these 
topics  one  lesson  will  be  sufficient,  others  will  require  for 
their  proper  consideration  ten  or  more  lessons.  Under 
no  circumstances,  however,  should  the  pupil  during  his 
last  two  years  in  the  grammar  school  attempt  to  do  more 
work  in  history  than  is  herein  outlined. 

VI 

The  pupil  should  be  required  to  read  all  the  references 
given  if  they  are  available.  The  discussion  of  some  of 
the  topics  in  this  book  is  quite  full,  but  in  no  case  should 
a  pupil  be  permitted  to  substitute  this  discussion  for  a 
thoughtful  reading  of  the  references. 

VII 

It  is  strongly  urged  that,  some  time  during  the  year 
preceding  the  one  in  which  history  is  taken  up  as  a  sep- 
arate study  the  pupil  be  given,  as  a  part  of  his  regular 
work   in    reading,  a    history   reader   consisting   of    the 


14  EXPLANATORY    AND   SUGGESTIVE 

biographies  of  some  of  the  principal  men  connected  with 
American  history.  In  Kern  County,  Eggleston's  First 
Book  in  American  History  has  been  used  as  a  regular 
school  reader  during  a  part  of  the  work  in  the  sixth  year, 
and  the  result  has  been  very  satisfactory.  Hand  in 
hand  with  the  training  in  reading,  there  has  been  given 
a  good  preparation  for  the  study  of  American  history. 

VIII 

The  abbreviations  used  in  citing  authorities  are  as 
follows: 

S.S.  History  of  the  United  States,  California  State 
Series. 

M.     School  History  of  the  United  States,  McMaster. 

E.  The  Colonies,  Thwaites  (Epochs  of  American  His- 
tory, Volume  I.). 

E.  II.  Formation  of  the  Union,  Hart  (Epochs  of 
American  History,  Volume  II.). 

E.  III.  Division  and  Reunion,  Wilson  (Epochs  of 
American  History,  Volume  III.). 


A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 
AMERICAN    HISTORY 

SEVENTH -YEAR     WORK 

CONDITIONS  FAVORABLE  TO  THE  DISCOVERY 
OF   AMERICA 

I  Increasing  Importance  of  Commerce 

The  increasing  importance  of  commerce  and  navi- 
gation, as  shown  by  the  enterprise  of  Venice,  Genoa, 
and  Portugal,  and  the  capture  by  the  Turks  of  the 
overland  trade  routes  to  the  important  trade  centers 
of  the  East,  made  it  necessary  for  the  people  of 
western  Europe  to  discover  other  lines  of  communi- 
cation, or  discontinue  their  commercial  relations 
with  the  Eastern  nations. 

S.S.  9-10;  M.  9-10. 

II  Invention  of  the  Compass 

The  invention  of  the  compass,  and  improvement 
in  ship-building  and  navigation,  made  it  possible 
for  mariners  to  undertake  long  sea  voyages.  Before 
the  compass  was  invented,  it  was  unsafe  for  ships  to 
go  far  from  land,  because  when  the  sun  or  stars  were 
hidden  by  clouds  or  fog,  the  sailors  could  not  guide 
the  ship  in  the  right  direction. 

III  Revival  of  Learning  in  Europe 

The  revival  of  learning  in  Europe,  and  the 
accounts  of  Marco  Polo  and  other  travelers,  made 
the  people  of  the  West  anxious  to  ascertain  the 
shape  and  extent  of  the  earth's  surface.    This  desire, 


16  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

taken  in  connection  with  the  increased  facilities  for 
making  long  sea  voyages,  would  have  led,  sooner  or 
later,  to  the  discovery  of  America,  even  had  Columbus 
not  been  successful  in  finding  the  new  land. 
S.  S.  8-9. 


DISCOVERIES  AND   EXPLORATIONS 

Spain,  England,  France,  Portugal,  and  Holland  were 
the  nations  which  took  the  principal  part  in  exploring 
and  settling  the  New  World.  Of  these  nations,  Portugal 
made  no  settlements  in  North  America.  Her  principal 
colony  was  Brazil,  in  South  America. 

I  Spanish  Exploration  and  Settlement 

Spain  explored  and  settled  most  of  the  West 
Indian  Islands,  Florida,  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
United  States,  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South 
America,  except  Brazil.  The  principal  Spanish 
explorers  were  Columbus,  De  Soto,  Balboa,  Magellan, 
and  Ponce  de  Leon. 
S.S.  14-15,  20-22;  M.  11-17,  19-22;  E.  23,  27-31 

II  English  Exploration  and  Settlement 

England  explored  and  settled  the  eastern  part  of 
North  America  from  Florida  to  Canada.     The  prin- 
cipal  English   explorers   were   the   Cabots,   Drake, 
Raleigh,  and  Gilbert. 
S.S.  23,  25-26,  32-35;  M.  14,  26-29;   E.  25,  36-37. 

III  French  Exploration  and  Settlement 

France  explored  the  larger  part  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  the  eastern  part  of  Canada.     She  settled 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  17 

the  eastern  part  of  Canada,  and  established  trading- 
posts  between  New  Orleans  and  the  Great  Lakes. 
The  principal  French  explorers  were  Cartier,  Denys, 
Champlain,  La  Salle,  and  Marquette. 

S.  S.  23,  25-30;  M.  60-65;  E.  32-36. 

IV    Dutch  Exploration  and  Settlement 

Holland  explored  and  settled  the  present  state  of 
New  York.     Hudson  was  the  principal  Dutch  ex- 


plorer. 


S.S.  71;  M.  36-39. 


DISPOSITION     OF     TERRITORY    IN     THE    NEW 
WORLD 

Discoverers  took  possession  of  the  territory  in  the  New 
World  in  the  name  of  their  sovereigns.  Thus  European 
nations  came  to  base  their  claims  to  territory  on  the 
"  right  of  discovery."  It  was  upon  this  so-called  right 
that  France  claimed  all  the  territory  drained  by  the 
Mississippi  and  the  St.  L.awrence,  and  their  tributaries; 
England,  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Canada  to  Florida; 
and  Spain,  Florida,  South  America  (except  Brazil), 
Mexico,  the  western  part  of  the  United  States,  and  most 
of  the  West  Indies.  England  granted  her  territory  in 
North  America  to  companies  and  to  individuals,  at  the 
same  time  establishing  crown  colonies,  which  were  under 
the  direct  control  of  the  sovereign.  Many  of  these  grants 
extended  from  "  sea  to  sea,"  thus  in  after  years  giving 
rise  to  conflicting  claims,  on  account  of  the  overlapping 
of  territory  claimed  by  different  colonies  or  countries. 

S.S.  29-35;  E.  43,  63-68. 


18  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS 

In  studying  this  subject  the  following  topics  should 
be  emphasized: 

I  Mode  of  Living 

II  Tribes 

III  Religion 

IV  Characteristics  of  the  Indians 

S.S.  16-19;  M.  66-73;  E.  7-19. 


ORIGIN     AND     GROWTH     OF     THE     THIRTEEN 
COLONIES 

I       The  Southern  Colonies,  with  Special  Reference 
to  Virginia 

In  order  to  get  a  general  view  of  this  subject,  read 
thoughtfully  the  following  references:1 

S.S.  56-70;  M.  26-35,  54,  57-58;  E.  64-91. 

1.  Purpose  of  Settlement  and  Character  of  Early  Emi- 
grants 

The  first  settlers  of  Virginia  did  not  come  to 
the  New  World  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  their 
permanent  home.  Most  of  them  were  gentlemen 
of  leisure,  gold-seekers,  and  fortune-hunters.  Af- 
ter securing  wealth  it  was  their  intention  to  re- 

1  Bear  in  mind  that  the  aim  of  this  reading  is,  not  to  prepare 
for  a  recitation,  but  to  give  the  pupil  a  general  view  of  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  however,  and  the  teacher 
should  not  fail  to  require  the  pupil  to  faithfully  perform  this 
work.  In  order  to  make  sure  that  the  pupil  does  this  work  well, 
he  should  be  required  to  make  copious  notes  while  reading,  and 
these  notes  should  be  read  and  discussed  in  class.  Give  the 
pupil  ample  time  for  this  reading. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  19 

turn  to  England.  Later,  men  of  wealth,  and  men 
of  the  sturdy  middle  class  of  England,  settled  in 
the  South  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  home  for 
themselves  and  children.  For  a  number  of  years, 
however,  there  were  many  poor  people,  vagabonds, 
and  criminals  sent  to  the  Southern  Colonies  under 
contract.  The  services  of  these  people  were  sold 
to  the  highest  bidder,  and  the  terms  of  the  con- 
tract provided  that  they  must  work  for  the  party 
purchasing  them  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  in 
order  to  repay  him.  Persons  thus  sold  into  tem- 
porary slavery  were  called  "  indentured  servants," 
and  their  descendants  largely  go  to  make  up  the 
poor  whites  of  the  South.  Negro  slavery  was 
early  introduced  into  all  the  Southern  Colonies, 
and  the  negroes  soon  formed  a  large  part  of  the 
population. 
S.S.  34,  57;  M.  31-32;  E.  65-66,  69-75. 

2.  Leading  Men  of  Early  Southern  History 

Make  a  thorough  study  of  the  men  named  be- 
low, because  around  their  lives  center  the  princi- 
pal political  facts  in  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  Southern  Colonies  previous  to  1700. 

a.  Captain  John  Smith 

S.S.  57-58;  M.  31;  E.  70-72. 

b.  James  Oglethorpe 

S.S.  65-67;  M.  57-58;    E.  258-262. 

c.  George  Calvert  and  his  son  Cecil 

S.S.  60-61;  M.  34-36;  E.  81-87. 

d.  Nathaniel  Bacon 

Study  Bacon's  Rebellion,  with  special  refer- 


20  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

ence  to  popular  government  in  Virginia  from 
1660  to  1700. 

S.S.  67-69;  E.  78-80. 

3.  Industrial  Life  in  the  Southern  Colonies  before  1690 

a.  Classes  of  Laborers 

Labor  in  the  household  and  on  the  planta- 
tion was  performed  almost  entirely  by  inden- 
tured servants  and  slaves.  The  idea  was 
gradually  growing  in  the  South  that  manual 
labor  was  dishonorable  and  unworthy  of  free 
men  and  women. 

M.  33-34;  E.  74. 

b.  Occupations 

Agriculture  was  the  chief  occupation  in  the 
South.  For  many  years  tobacco  was  the  lead- 
ing staple,  and  was  used  as  a  medium  of  ex- 
change, taking  the  place  of  money.  Other 
staples  were  tar,  pitch,  resin,  lumber,  rice,  and 
indigo.  Unlike  the  North,  the  South  produced 
but  very  few  of  her  manufactured  articles. 

II     New  England,  with  Special  Reference  to  Massa- 
chusetts 

In  order  to  get  a  general  view  of  this  subject, 
read  thoughtfully  the  following  references  (see  note, 
page  18): 

S.S.  36-55;    M.  40-53;  E.  112-153. 

1.  Purposes   of    Settlement   and    Character   of  Emi- 
grants 

The  first  settlers  of  New  England  were  men  of 
strong  character  and  stern  determination.  They 
belonged  to  the  sturdy  middle  class  of  England, 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  21 

and  came  to  the  New  World  to  secure  religious 
liberty  and  to  establish  permanent  homes  for 
themselves  and  their  children.  The  character  of 
these  settlers  shaped  the  future  history  of  New 
England.  For  more  than  150  years,  on  all  ques- 
tions in  which  a  principle  was  involved,  she 
could  not  be  changed  from  the  position  which  she 
considered  to  be  right.  These  stern  men  and 
women  were  well  fitted  to  endure  the  hardships 
of  early  New  England  life. 

S.S.  37-38;  M.  40-42;  E.  114-117. 

2.  Leading  Men  of  Early  Neiv  England 

a.  John  Winthrop 

Study  carefully  the  work  of  John  Winthrop 
in  the  Massachusetts  colony. 

S.S.  49-50;  M.  47;  E.  127,  129,  135-138,  156, 
161. 

b.  Roger  Williams  in  Rhode  Island 

S.S.  42-44;  M.  49-50;  E.  132-133,  136, 146-149, 
160, 165. 

3.  Church  and  State  in  New  England 

In  New  England  the  church  and  state  were 
closely  related.  At  first  none  but  church  members 
could  hold  office  or  take  any  part  in  public  affairs. 
People  were  compelled  to  attend  church  on  Sun- 
day, or  pay  a  fine.  The  Bible  was  the  guide  in 
public  affairs,  and  any  law  not  in  harmony  with 
its  teachings  was  considered  unconstitutional. 
In  other  words,  the  church  was  superior  to  the 
state,  and  the  early  settlers  of  New  England  were 
doing   the   very  things   for   which   they  had   so 


22  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

severely  condemned  the  English  government. 
There  was  less  religious  freedom  in  New  England 
than  in  old  England  during  the  same  time. 

M.  48;  E. 127-128. 

4.   The  Town  in  Neiv  England 

In  the  Southern  Colonies  the  county  was  the  unit 
of  local  government.  County  officers  were  elected 
to  transact  the  business  in  about  the  same  way  as 
they  are  elected  in  California  and  other  Western 
States.  In  New  England,  however,  the  county 
was  not  the  unit  of  local  government,  at  least  to 
any  great  extent.  The  town  took  its  place.  By 
far  the  larger  part  of  the  population  lived  in 
towns.  A  large  part  of  the  local  public  business 
was  transacted  at  town  meetings,  at  which  all  free- 
men had  the  right  to  vote.  At  these  meetings 
many  questions  were  decided,  and  the  town  officers 
were  elected. 

E.  55-57. 


5.  The  Growth  of  New  England 

With  the  exception  of  Maine,  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  was  the  parent  of  the  other  New 
England  colonies.  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont  were  settled  by 
people  from  Massachusetts,  and  with  the  exception, 
in  some  cases,  of  a  difference  in  opinion  on  reli- 
gious questions,  these  colonies  were  practically  the 
same.  The  town  was  the  unit  of  local  govern- 
ment, and  the  members  of  the  law-making  body 
of  each  colony  were  elected  at  the  town  meetings. 

S.S.  43-46;  M.  49-51;  E.  140-153. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  23 

6.  Industrial  Life 

a.  Classes  of  Laborers 

There  were  but  few  slaves  in  New  England, 
most  of  the  labor  being  done  by  freemen  who 
owned  property.  In  the  Southern  Colonies 
those  who  labored  were  held  in  contempt  by  the 
wealthier  classes,  but  in  New  England  labor 
was  considered  honorable,  and  even  well-to-do 
and  educated  men  worked  on  their  farms. 

b.  Occupations 

The  occupations  of  New  England  were  agri- 
culture, commerce,  fishing,  and  ship-building. 
This  section  of  the  country,  because  of  its  sterile 
hills  and  small  valleys,  w as  not  adapted  to  the 
extensive  cultivation  of  a  few  staple  products, 
as  was  the  South.  Because  of  this  condition 
the  people  devoted  most  of  their  industrial 
efforts  toward  fishing,  commerce,  and  ship- 
building, becoming  in  the  latter  industry  fa- 
mous the  world  over. 

III.  The  Middle  Colonies,  with  Special  Reference  to 

Pennsylvania 

In  order  to  get  a  general  view  of  this  subject,  read 

thoughtfully  the  following  references  (see  note,  page 

18): 

S.S.  71-80;  M.  54-58;  E.  195-232. 

1.  Purpose  of  Settlement 

The  colony  of  Pennsylvania  was  established 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  home  for  the 
Quakers,  a  religious  sect,  the  members  of  which 
were  being  persecuted  in   England.      The  other 


24 


A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

Middle  Colonies  were  founded  mainly  for  commer- 
cial purposes. 

8.S.  73-75;  M.  55-56. 

2.  William  Penn 

Study  carefully  the  work  of  William  Penn  in 
Pennsylvania. 

E.  215-217. 

3.  Character  of  Emigrants 

Make  a  thorough  study  of  this  subject,  com- 
paring and  contrasting  the  character  and  aims  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  with  those  of 
Massachusetts  and  Virginia. 

S.S.  73-75;  M.  103;  E.  221-222. 

4.  Rapid  Growth  of  the  Colony,  Due  to  — 

a.  Civil  and  Religious  Liberty 

S.S.  73-75;  M.  55;  E.  215. 

b.  Friendly  Relations  with  the  Indians 

S.S.  75;  M.  71-72;  E.  216-217. 

c.  Social  Equality  and  Brotherly  Co-operation 

S.S.  75;  E.  224. 

d.  Cheapness  of  Land 

JR.  215. 

5.  New  York  Founded  by  the  Dutch 

Do  not  make  a  detailed  study  of  this  topic. 
Emphasize  the  events  leading  to  colonization,  the 
object  of  settlement,  and  the  acquisition  of  the 
colony  by  the  English. 

S.S.  71-72;  E.  196-207. 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  25 

The  Town  and  the  County  in  the  Middle  Colonies 

In  the  Middle  Colonies,  as  in  the  South  and  in 
New  England,  the  people  were  practically  inde- 
pendent, in  so  far  as  local  government  was  con- 
cerned, and  also  had  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  for 
the  colony.  In  some  parts  of  the  Middle  Colonies 
the  town  was  the  unit  of  local  government,  while 
in  other  parts  it  was  the  county.  The  topography 
of  the  country  largely  decided  this  question.  If 
the  country  consisted  of  a  large  number  of  small 
valleys  the  town  was  usually  the  local  political 
unit;  if  it  consisted  of  large  valleys,  and  the  soil 
and  climate  made  agriculture  the  chief  occupa- 
tion, the  county  was,  as  a  rule,  the  local  political 
unit. 

E.  57-58,  203-204. 

Industrial  Life  in  the  Middle  Colonies 

a.  Classes  of  Laborers 

There  were  but  few  slaves  in  the  Middle 
Colonies,  and,  as  in  New  England,  labor  was 
considered  honorable,  and  most  of  it  was  per- 
formed by  freeman,  who  were  also  property 
holders. 

b.  Occupations 

Agriculture  was  the  chief  occupation.  The 
soil  was  rich,  and  the  climate  allowed  a  greater 
variety  of  crops  than  in  the  South.  Pennsyl- 
vania, also,  early  began  the  manufacture  of 
leather,  paper,  and  cloth. 

S.S.  78-79,  83;  E.  224-226. 


26  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

COLONIZATION   OF   NEW   FRANCE 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  this  subject,  read 
thoughtfully  the  following  references  (see  note,  page  18): 
S.S.  91-96;  M.  76-82;  E.  246-257. 

France  established  permanent  settlements  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  Canada  and  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
River.  She  also  established  military  and  trading  posts 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The 
French,  however,  seemed  unfitted  to  build  up  colonies 
in  the  New  World.  The  French  colonists  seldom  raised 
enough  food  products  to  meet  their  own  requirements, 
and  were  often  compelled  to  import  foodstuffs  from  the 
mother  country.  The  French  colonists  devoted  most  of 
their  time  to  trading  with  the  Indians.  Quebec,  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  was  the  largest  and  most  important 
city. 

I  Champlain 

Study  carefully  the  work  of  Champlain  in  New 
France. 

S.S.  91-92;  E.  246-247. 

II  Explorations  and  Forts  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 

S.S.  92-93;  M.  60-65,  76,  79;  E.  247-249. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  study  of  this  topic  that 
France  based  her  claim  to  the  Mississippi  Valley  on 
discovery  and  exploration,  and  emphasized  it  by  the 
burying  of  military  plates  upon  which  were  engraved 
statements  of  her  claim  to  this  territory. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  27 

RELATIONS   OF   THE    INDIANS   AND   THE   COL- 
ONISTS 

Do  not  attempt  a  detailed  study  of  the  various  Indian 
wars  and  massacres.  Too  much  time  is  often  wasted  on 
this  subject.  Stress  should  be  placed  on  the  general  re- 
lations of  the  Indians  to  the  colonists,  and  upon  the  way 
in  which  those  relations  affected  colonial  development. 

I  Alliance  of  the  Western  Tribes  with  the  French 

Observe  how  this  alliance  made  the  Iroquois  of 
New  York  enemies  of  the  French,  and  how  it  pre- 
vented the  latter  from  pushing  their  settlements 
toward  those  of  the  English  colonists  on  the  Atlantic 

coast. 

M.  60-62;  E.  246. 

II  Relations  with  the  English 

1.  In  General 

E.  17-19. 

2.  Pequod  War 

S.S.  44;  M.  71. 

3.  King  Philip's  War 

E.  170-172. 

4.  In  Pennsylvania 

S.S.  75;  E.  216-217. 

SOCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL  CONDITION  OF  THE 
COLONIES   IN   1700 

At  this  point  clearly  fix  in  mind  what  constitutes  the 
social  life,  the  industrial  life,  and  the  political  life  of  the 
people. 


28  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

The  amusements  of  the  people,  the  social  relations  be- 
tween the  various  classes  of  society,  treatment  of  neigh- 
bors, customs  of  dress,  daily  manner  of  speaking  and 
acting  toward  others,  and  all  those  things  which  interest 
or  amuse  men  in  a  social  way,  constitute  the  social  life  of 
a  people.  Those  things  which  men  do  to  make  a  living, 
as  the  raising  of  crops,  and  the  carrying  on  of  commerce, 
manufacturing,  and  mining,  constitute  the  industrial  life 
of  a  people.  Voting,  nominating  men  for  office,  serving 
as  public  officials,  discussing  and  taking  an  interest  in 
public  questions,  and  advocating  a  change  in  the  laws  or 
a  change  in  the  form  of  government  constitute  the  politi- 
cal life  of  a  people. 

This  subject  should  be  given  careful  consideration. 
Spare  no  effort  to  obtain  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
every-day  life  of  the  people  at  this  period.  Compare  the 
social  and  economic  conditions  of  the  people  living  in 
1700  with  the  conditions  under  which  they  live  at  the 
present  time. 

I       Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  in  the  Southern 
Colonies  l 
1.  Land  and  People 

E.  96-98. 

1  The  sub-topics  given  in  connection  with  this  subject  do  not 
fall  logically  under  the  heads  "  Social"  and  "Industrial."  The 
topics  are  identical  with  those  given  in  the  Epochs  of  American 
History.  It  would  be  good  training  for  the  pupil  to  have  him 
arrange  this  material  under  its  proper  heads.  A  clear  conception 
of  the  conditions  in  the  colonies  is  necessary  to  a  proper  under- 
standing of  colonial  history.  The  pupil  should  devote  sufficient 
time  to  this  subject  to  enable  him  to  discuss,  in  well-written 
compositions,  the  social  and  industrial  condition  of  the  people  in 
1700  in  the  Southern,  in  the  Middle,  and  in  the  New  England 
colonies. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  21 

2.  Slavery  and  Servants 

E.  98-100. 

3.  Middle  and  Upper  Classes 

E.  100-101. 

4.  Occupations 

E.  102-104. 

5.  Navigation  Acts 

E.  104-106. 

6.  Social  Life 

E.  106-109. 

7.  Political  Life  and  Conclusions 

E.  109-111. 

II     Social  and  Economic  Conditions  in  New  England 

1.  Land  and  People 

E.  179-181. 

2.  Social  Classes  and  Professions 

E.  181-184. 

3.  Occupations 

E.  184-186 

4.  Social  Conditions 

E.  186-188. 

5.  Moral  and  Religious  Conditions 

E.  188-190. 

6.  The  Witchcraft  Delusion 

E.  190-192. 

1  See  note,  page  28. 


30  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

7.  Political  Conditions 

E.  192-194. 

Ill  Social  and  Economic  Conditions   in  the  Middle 
Colonies  l 

1.  Geographical  Conditions 

E.  218-220. 

2.  People 

E.  220-222. 

3.  Social  Classes 

E.  222-224. 

4.  Occupations 

E.  224-226. 

5.  Social  Life 

E.  226-229. 

6.  Intellectual  and  Moral  Conditions 

E.  229-231. 

7.  Political  Conditions  and  Conclusions 

E.  231-232. 


FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR 

In  order  to  secure  a  general  view  of  this  subject,  read 
thoughtfully  the  following  references  (see  note,  page  18): 

S.S.  98-110;  M.  76-92;  E.  II.  22-41. 
I       Causes  of  the  War 

While  the  immediate  cause  of  this  war  was  the 
conflict  of  claims  on  the  part  of  the  French  and  the 

1  See  note,  page  28. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  31 

English  to  territory  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  it  was  not 
the  fundamental  or  underlying  cause.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  before  this  war  began,  France  and 
England  had  both  foreseen  that  there  must  be 
a  struggle  to  determine  which  nation  should  be- 
come the  predominant  power  in  the  New  World, 
and  they  were  maturing  their  plans  for  that  inevi- 
table conflict.  The  war  was  to  determine  whether 
North  America  should  be  French  or  English  in 
ideas,  government,  and  religion. 

S.S.  98-100;  M.  76-85;  E.  II.  23-24. 

II  Relative  Strength  of  the  Parties 

E.  II.  27-28. 

III  Campaigns 

Do  not  try  to  remember  the  details  of  the  cam- 
paigns, but  study  carefully  the  purpose,  the  scope, 
and  the  result  of  each  one.  While  studying  these 
campaigns,  follow  carefully,  by  the  use  of  maps,  the 
movements  of  the  armies,  and  it  would  be  well  to 
have  maps  drawn  occasionally,  without  reference  to 
a  book,  locating  the  operations  of  each  campaign. 

1.  Campaign  against  Fort  Duquesne 

This  campaign  includes  Bracldock's  defeat  in 
1755,  and  the  capture  of  the  fort  by  Forbes  in 
1758. 

S.S.  104-105;  M.  87-88;  E.  II.  31-33. 

2.  Campaign  against  Louisburg 

S.S.  106;  M.  89;  E.  II.  33. 

3.  Campaign  against  Quebec 

This  campaign  includes  the  attempts  to  reach 


32  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

Quebec  in  1775  by  way  of  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  its  capture  by  Wolfe  in  1759. 

S.S.  103,  106-108;  M.  88-89;  E.  II.  34. 

IV    Results 

1.  Geographical  Results 

England  secured  all  of  Canada,  and  all  of  the 
territory  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except  a  small 
strip  of  land  at  the  mouth  of  that  river.  Spain 
secured  all  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the  present 
northern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 

S.S.  109-110;  M.  90-91;  E.  II.  34-37. 

2.  Political  Results 

a.  On  English  Influence  in  North  America 

This  war  decided  that  English  customs, 
ideas,  and  institutions  should  forever  predomi- 
nate in  North  America. 

E.  II.  39. 

b.  On  the  English  Colonists 

The  war  gave  the  colonists  a  feeling  of  unity 
and  strength,  and  a  military  experience  that 
proved  of  great  value  as  a  preparation  for  the 
Revolutionary  War;  it  gave  England  an  excuse 
for  taxing  the  colonists  to  defray  a  portion  of 
the  expense  of  the  war,  and  thus  brought  on  the 
dispute  which  caused  the  Revolution. 

E.  II.  40-41. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  33 

INSTITUTIONAL     LIFE    IN    THE    COLONIES    IN 

1775 

In  every  community  of  people,  however  low  in  the 
scale  of  civilization,  may  be  found  the  rudiments  of  these 
organizations  or  institutions;  viz.,  the  church,  or  religion; 
the  school,  or  education;  the  state,  or  government;  busi- 
ness, or  industrial  life;  and  society,  or  social  life.  All  of 
the  efforts  put  forth  by  any  people  must  be  along  one  or 
more  of  these  lines.  In  civilized  countries  these  institu- 
tions are  plainly  marked  in  every  community,  and  each 
individual  in  the  community  bears  certain  relations  to 
all  of  these  organizations  or  institutions,  and  is  useful  or 
otherwise,  as  a  member  of  society,  in  proportion  to  his 
activity  in  these  five  directions.  To  illustrate:  In  the 
ideal  community,  each  person  takes  an  active  part  in 
some  organization  that  advocates  his  views  on  religion, 
he  interests  himself  in  the  educational  affairs  of  the  com- 
munity, he  takes  an  active  part  in  politics,  follows  some 
occupation  successfully,  and  contributes  to  the  happiness 
and  culture  of  the  people  in  whose  society  he  lives.1 

I       Origin  of  Colonial  Institutions 

Place  much  emphasis  upon  the  fact  that  the  social, 
the  political,  and  the  industrial  ideas  and  life  of  the 
colonists  were  derived  from  England.  The  colonies 
did  not  originate  their  political,  social,  or  religious 
ideas.    They  brought  them  over  from  England.    The 

1  Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  by  the  teacher  to  fix  definitely 
in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  the  meaning  of  institutional  life.  The 
pupil  should  be  required  to  point  out  many  examples  of  these 
five  institutions  in  his  own  neighborhood.  Let  him  select  some 
prominent  man  in  the  community,  state,  or  nation,  and  show  his 
relation  to  religion,  education,  government,  business,  and  society. 
He  will  then  be  prepared  to  successfully  study  institutional  life  in 
the  colonies. 


34  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

English  in  America  were  like  the  English  in  Europe. 
The  colonists  were  proud  of  the  history  of  England, 
proud  to  be  called  Englishmen.  They  spoke  with 
reverence  of  England  as  the  Mother  Country. 

While  it  is  true  that  colonial  institutions  and 
American  institutions  were  derived  from  England,  the 
fact  should  not  be  overlooked  that  the  conditions  in 
the  colonies,  and  later  the  conditions  in  the  United 
States,  brought  about  a  modification  of  those  institu- 
tions. There  was  an  aristocracy  in  the  colonies, 
especially  in  the  South,  but  the  primitive  condition 
of  the  country  and  the  common  dangers  and  hard- 
ships made  the  division  between  the  upper  and  the 
lower  classes  less  marked  than  in  England.  The  set- 
tlements being  separated  and  exposed  to  the  constant 
danger  of  attack  from  the  Indians,  the  ability  for 
local  self-government  and  the  desire  to  control  their 
own  political  affairs  were  stimulated  and  developed. 
The  freedom  of  the  woods  and  the  freedom  of  their 
lives  developed  a  strong  relf-reliance  and  a  dislike 
for  restraint  in  religious  and  political  matters. 

The  above  facts  are  necessary  to  a  correct  un- 
derstanding of  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
and  hence  at  this  point  in  the  study  of  history  it  is 
necessary  to  understand  clearly  that  colonial  and 
American  institutions  have  been  derived  from  Eng- 
land, and  are  similar  in  a  general  way  to  English 
institutions,  and  it  is  also  necessary  to  understand 
clearly  that  these  transplanted  institutions  have  been 
modified  by  the  conditions  which  have  existed  and 
still  exist  in  the  New  World. 

S.S.  81-82;  E.  II.  5-10. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  35 

II     The  Five  Institutions  in  the  Colonies 
1.  Government  in  the  Colonies 

a.  Local  Government 

In  New  England  the  religious  zeal,  the 
severe  climate,  the  short,  rapid  rivers,  and  the 
hostility  of  the  Indians  and  neighboring 
French  led  the  people  to  settle  in  towns.  As 
each  citizen  was  entitled  to  take  part  in  the 
town  meetings,  a  great  impulse  was  given  to 
popular  government.  Here  the  people  exer- 
cised the  right  of  regulating  their  own  local 
affairs  from  the  beginning. 

In  the  South  the  mild  climate,  the  long  and 
broad  rivers,  the  friendly  Indians,  and  large 
plantations  caused  the  people  to  live  widely 
apart.  This  comparatively  isolated  condition 
had  the  effect  of  concentrating  local  political 
power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  usually  the 
owners  of  the  large  plantations.  Although  in 
both  sections  of  the  country  the  spirit  of  in- 
dividual freedom  grew,  perhaps,  with  equal 
rapidity,  the  principles  of  local  government 
were  worked  out  more  fully  in  the  New  England 
towns  than  anywhere  else  in  the  colonies.  All 
local  questions  which  involved  the  welfare  of 
the  town,  including  the  election  of  all  town 
officers,  were  decided  at  a  general  town  meet- 
ing, where  each  male  citizen  was  entitled  to  a 
vote. 

S.S.  47-49,  68-69;  E.  II.  11-13. 

b.  Colonial  Governments 

Colonial  governments  may  be  divided  into 
three  classes,  on  the  basis  of  the  manner  of 


A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

selecting  the  governor.  In  the  charter  govern- 
ment the  people  chose  the  governor.  In  the 
proprietary  government  the  proprietor  selected 
him,  and  in  the  royal  government  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  king.  With  this  difference, 
however,  the  people  enjoyed  the  same  rights 
in  all  the  colonies.  In  each  colony  there  was 
an  assembly  chosen  by  the  people,  and  al- 
though the  governors  and  assemblies  often 
disagreed  on  matters  of  legislation,  the  assem- 
blies usually  had  the  decisive  voice  in  making 
nearly  all  of  the  internal  laws  of  the  colonies. 

S.S. 81-82;  M.  105-107;  E. 58-61;  E.  II.  13-17. 

(1)  Charter  Government 

A  charter  government  was  one  estab- 
lished by  a  written  contract  between  the 
king  and  the  colonists,  stating  the  share 
which  each  should  have  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony.  This  charter  or 
contract  could  not  be  changed  legally 
without  the  consent  of  both  parties. 

S.S.  41-44,  61;  M.  29-30,  32,  34,  46;  E. 
60-61, 66-69, 72, 125-127;  E. II.  13-17. 

(2)  Proprietary  Government 

A  proprietary  government  was  estab- 
lished when  the  king  granted  a  large  tract 
of  land  to  some  individual,  who,  by  the 
terms  of  the  grant,  acquired  the  right  to 
organize  a  colony  and  appoint  the  gov- 
ernor. 

S.S.  74;  M.  105-106;  E.  82,  89,  215. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  37 

(3)     Royal  Government 

In  the  case  of  a  royal  colony,  the  king 
appointed  a  governor  and  issued  to  him 
all  instructions  for  the  management  of 
the  colony.  The  royal  governments  were 
directly  under  the  control  of  the  king, 
and  not  under  that  of  Parliament. 
S.S.  81-82;  M.  105-106;  E.  67-69,  174- 

176,  271-277;  E.  II.  15. 

c.  Colonial  Unions 

From  their  foundation  there  were  many 
forces  at  work  in  the  colonies  which  encouraged 
the  formation  of  a  union.  Their  common  origin 
and  interests,  their  troubles  with  the  Dutch  and 
with  the  Indians,  and  the  disposition  on  the 
part  of  England  to  interfere  with  their  liberties, 
all  tended  to  draw  them  more  and  more  closely 
together. 

S.S.  49;  M.  51-52;  E.  154-157,  269-271;  E.  II. 
28-30. 

2.  Industrial  Conditions  in  the  Colonies 

a.  Classes  of  Laborers 

No  great  change  had  taken  place  in  the 
laboring  population  since  1700.  The  South 
still  depended  largely  upon  slaves  and  inden- 
tured servants;  the  Middle  Colonies  depended 
more  upon  free  labor;  and  the  New  England 
Colonies  depended  almost  entirely  upon  the 
free  labor  of  their  inhabitants,  and  labor  was 
not  regarded  as  a  disgrace. 

b.  Occupations 

In  the  South,  agriculture,  centering  around 


38  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

the  production  of  enormous  quantities  of  rice 
and  tobacco  for  the  European  markets,  was  the 
only  industry.  In  the  Middle  Colonies,  the 
people  were  engaged  in  commerce,  as  well  as  in 
agriculture.  In  New  England,  the  people  de- 
voted their  attention  to  farming,  fishing,  com- 
merce, and  ship-building. 

c.  Absence  of  Manufacturing  Industries 

This  was  due,  in  the  South,  to  the  nature  of 
the  country,  which  made  agriculture  on  a  large 
scale  so  profitable.  It  was  due  in  the  Middle 
and  Northern  Colonies  to  the  restrictive  system 
of  England,  as  manifested  in  her  Navigation 
Laws,  which  prevented  or  discouraged  one 
colony  from  sending  its  surplus  products  to 
another  colony  when  they  might  just  as  well 
have  been  imported  from  England. 

d.  Absence  of  Specialized  Artisans  and  Mechanics 

Everything  required  on  the  farm  was  made 
in  one  way  or  another  by  the  farmer  or  his 
sons.  Division  of  labor  in  the  colonies  and 
specialization  of  industry  were  to  be  developed 
in  the  future. 

S.S.   82-83;  M.    101-104;  E.    278-282;  E.   II. 
18-21. 

3.  Social  Life  in  the  Colonies 

In  general  there  was  an  absence  of  city  life. 
Places  which  could  be  considered  of  any  impor- 
tance, such  as  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Charleston,  were  mere  provincial  towns. 
"  The  largest  of  these  were  mere  collections  of  a 
few  hundred  houses  ranged  along  streets,  none  of 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  39 

which  were  sewered,  and  few  of  which  were  paved 
or  lighted."  1  Travel  was  infrequent,  especially 
from  one  colony  to  another,  and  the  citizens  of 
one  colony  had  little  opportunity  for  coming  into 
touch  with  those  even  in  the  neighboring  colonies. 
The  roads  were  poor  and  the  means  of  transpor- 
tation very  inadequate.  Few  people  possessed 
wheeled  vehicles,  and  those  in  use  were  of  a  very 
clumsy  description.  Along  the  coast  and  rivers 
it  was  possible  for  the  people  to  travel  from 
one  place  to  another  in  boats  and  sailing-vessels, 
but  inland  the  bulk  of  travel  was  on  horseback 
or  afoot.  In  the  South  the  better  class  of  people 
were  aristocratic,  but  their  isolation  made  them 
very  hospitable.  They  were  always  ready  for 
showing  the  welcome  and  hospitality  for  which 
their  large,  roomy,  brick  or  stone  mansions  were 
so  well  fitted.  To  the  northward  the  tastes  of  the 
people  were  simpler,  and  quite  in  keeping  with 
their  sturdy,  industrious,  and  democratic  life. 
S.S.  83-90;  M.  93-105;  E. 280-282;  E. II.  18. 

4.  Education  in  the  Colonies 

In  the  greater  part  of  New  England  some 
public  provision  was  made  for  the  teaching  of  the 
elements  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic, 
while  the  larger  towns  provided  sufficient  instruc- 
tion for  entrance  into  the  local  colleges,  but  the 
schools  were  very  poor.  In  the  Middle  Colonies 
there  was,  on  the  whole,  very  little  public  in- 
struction. In  Virginia  children  received  instruc- 
tion from  private  tutors,  or  perhaps  from  the 
clergyman  of  the  parish,  provided  their  parents 

1 M.  99-100. 


40  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

were  able  to  pay  for  such  instruction.  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas  were  without  any  public  educa- 
tional institutions.  The  people  in  the  far  South 
depended  upon  colleges  in  England  and  in  the 
North.  While  there  were  a  number  of  colleges 
in  existence, — Yale,  Harvard,  King's  (Columbia), 
New  Jersey  (Princeton),  Pennsylvania,  and 
William  and  Mary,  —  the  work  which  they  gave 
was  very  narrow  in  scope,  and  of  the  grade  of 
work  done  in  the  present  high  school.  The  pro- 
fession of  law — hitherto  of  little  importance  — 
was  beginning  to  occupy  a  position  of  con- 
siderable prominence.  In  fact,  it  was  the  only 
profession  which  could  be  compared  with  the 
ministry. 

E.  II.  18. 

5.  Religion  in  the  Colonies 

While  in  New  England  the  sturdy  Puritans 
were  still  conservative,  as  regards  religious  affairs, 
they  were  becoming  more  and  more  liberal.  The 
Congregational  Church,  with  the  full  support  of 
the  people,  was  practically  the  only  church,  save 
in  Rhode  Island,  where  freedom  of  religion  had 
long  prevailed.  The  clergymen  of  New  England 
went  to  make  up  the  leading,  educated,  and  influ- 
ential class  of  the  North,  and  tended  to  dominate 
the  life  of  the  times  until  the  church  and  state 
became  separated  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 
In  Pennsylvania,  religious  freedom  prevailed, 
while  in  Maryland  all  tax-payers  were  by  law 
compelled  to  support  the  Church  of  England. 
Farther  south,  the  Established  Church  was  grad- 
ually  becoming   less   important;    the   ministers 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  41 

were  often  easy-going  men,  and  without  the  moral 
strength  required  of  them,  if  they  wished  to  be 
important  and  influential  men. 

S.S.  85. 


THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR 

Causes 

At  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  in 
1763  the  English  colonists  in  America  were  loyal 
English  subjects.  They  were  proud  of  their  English 
origin;  proud  of  English  history,  considering  it  part 
of  their  own  inheritance;  proud  to  be  called  English- 
men; and  spoke  with  reverence  of  England  as  the 
Mother  Country.  In  less  than  fifteen  years  from  this 
date,  the  same  colonists  were  in  open  rebellion,  carry- 
ing on  war  against  England.  There  were  vital  and 
fundamental  causes  which  brought  about  this  change 
of  feeling,  and  these  causes  were  the  causes  which 
led  to  the  Revolution. 

1.    English  Control  of  Colonial  Commerce 

In  order  to  control  the  commerce  of  the  colonies, 
England  passed  trade  laws  known  as  the  Naviga- 
tion Acts.  The  Navigation  Acts  were  funda- 
mentally connected  with  the  causes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. These  laws  extended  from  1651  down  to  the 
Revolution.  Their  object  was  to  secure  to  Eng- 
lish merchants  a  monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade  of 
England  and  her  colonies.  In  some  cases  small 
duties  were  levied  on  exports  and  imports,  but 
these  duties  were  mainly  levied  in  order  to  secure 
the  better  enforcement  of  the  Navigation  Acts,  and 


42  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

not  in  order  to  raise  money  for  the  English  gov- 
ernment. The  laws  regulating  colonial  commerce 
were  not  rigidly  enforced  until  after  the  French 
and  Indian  War. 

A  careful  study  should  be  made  of  these  laws 
with  regard  to  their  general  scope,  their  evasion 
by  the  colonists,  and  their  general  effect  on  com- 
merce. Bear  in  mind  that,  although  these  laws 
irritated  the  colonists,  they  did  not  offer  any 
serious  objection  to  them  until  Writs  of  Assistance 
were  issued,  enabling  English  officers  to  enter 
private  houses  and  search  for  smuggled  goods. 
S.S.  51, 113-114;  M.  108;  E.  II.  17, 19, 44-58,  66. 

2.   Taxation  without  Representation 

Distinguish  carefully  between  the  Navigation 
Acts  and  taxation  for  the  purpose  of  raising  rev- 
enue, particularly  direct  taxation.  The  colonists 
would,  perhaps,  have  submitted  to  the  Navigation 
Acts  and  to  the  nominal  taxes  which  some  of 
them  imposed.  They  would  not,  however,  pay 
the  taxes  levied  for  purposes  of  revenue,  and 
especially  direct  taxes,  unless  they  had  some  voice 
in  voting  such  taxation.  They  did  not  object  to 
the  amount  of  the  tax,  but  to  the  principle  in- 
volved. Englishmen,  by  more  than  a  century  of 
struggle,  had  secured  the  right  to  vote  taxes 
through  their  representatives.  The  colonists  con- 
sidered themselves  Englishmen  with  all  the  rights 
of  Englishmen,  and  hence  they  refused  to  submit 
to  taxation  without  representation.  In  other 
words,  the  Revolutionary  War  was  brought  about 
because  Englishmen  in  America  were  denied  the 
rights  enjoyed  by  Englishmen  in  England.     And 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  43 

it  should  be  remembered  that  these  rights  were 
denied  colonists  in  America,  not  by  the  people  of 
England,  but  by  the  King  and  his  Ministers. 
The  common  people  of  England,  like  the  colo- 
nists, were  opposed  to  the  levying  of  taxes  where 
the  parties  taxed  had  no  voice  in  the  voting  of 
them.  When  William  Pitt  became  Prime  Minis- 
ter, he  represented  the  English  people  on  these 
questions,  and  was  a  stanch  friend  of  the  colonists. 
It  would  probably  be  safe  to  say  that  a  majority 
of  the  common  people  of  England  opposed  the 
Revolutionary  War  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
were  glad  that  the  colonists  resisted  the  unjust 
taxation,  because  they  believed  that  if  the  King 
could  unjustly  tax  the  colonists,  he  might  attempt 
to  overthrow  the  constitutional  liberties  of  Eng- 
lishmen in  England. 

a.  The  Stamp  Act  and  the  Stamp  Act  Congress 

S.S.  114-118;  M.  114-115;  E.  II.  48-53. 

b.  The  Townshend  Acts,  the  Tea  Tax,  and  Other 

Revenue  Acts 

S.S.  119-124;  M.  117-120;  E.  II.  53-58. 

3.  The  Five  Coercive  Acts 

S.S.  124;  M.  120-121;  E.  II.  59-60. 

4.  The  First  Continental  Congress 

S.S. 124-127;  M.  121-122;  E.  60-63. 

II    Campaigns 

In  order  to  secure  a  general  view  of  the  subject, 


44  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

read   thoughtfully   the  references  given  below  (see 
note,  page  18): 

S.S.  130-175;  M.  126-154;  E.  II.  70-101. 

After  the  British  under  Gage  were  compelled  to 
leave  Boston  they  adopted  three  general  plans  of 
campaign.  The  first  was  to  separate  New  England 
from  the  other  colonies  by  occupying  New  York  City 
and  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  the  second  was  to  cap- 
ture Philadelphia  and  overrun  the  Middle  Colonies, 
and  the  third  was  to  land  an  army  in  Georgia,  move 
northward,  and  subjugate  the  colonies  one  by  one. 

1.  Concord  and  Lexington 

S.S.  132-137;  M. 129-131. 

2.  The  Siege  and  Capture  of  Boston 

S.S.  132-137;  M. 129-131. 

3.  The  Campaign  to  Separate  New  England  from  the 

Other  Colonies 

This  campaign,  on  the  part  of  the  English,  was 
a  failure.  They  captured  and  occupied  New  York 
City  until  the  end  of  the  war,  but  the  army  under 
Burgoyne,  which  had  for  its  object  the  capture  of 
the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  was  compelled  to  sur- 
render to  the  Americans.  This  was  the  last  attempt 
made  by  the  English  to  separate  New  England 
from  the  other  colonies. 

The  results  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  were 
important.  It  not  only  defeated  the  attempt  of  the 
English  to  separate  New  England  from  the  other 
colonies,  but  induced  France  to  acknowledge  Amer- 
ican independence,  and  to  make  a  treaty  with  the 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  45 

Americans,  which  bound  her  to  assist  their  cause 
with  money,  ships,  and  men  until  that  indepen- 
dence should  be  acknowledged  by  the  other 
nations  of  the  world. 

S.S.  155-158;  M.  139-141;  E.  II.  85. 

2.    The  Campaign  against  Philadelphia  and  the  Mid- 
dle Colonies 

The  English  were  partially  successful  in  this 
campaign.  Washington  was  driven  from  New 
York,  New  Jersey  was  overrun,  and  Philadelphia 
was  captured.  The  English,  however,  could  hold 
no  more  territory  than  that  actually  occupied  by 
their  armies.  When  the  English  received  the 
news  of  the  treaty  with  France  they  evacuated 
Philadelphia,  and  after  the  indecisive  battle  of 
Monmouth,  closely  followed  by  Washington,  they 
hurried  on  to  New  York  City  to  defend  that 
place  against  the  French  fleet. 

S.S.  146-154;  M.  135-139, 141-142. 

5.  Campaigns  against  the  Southern  Colonies 

From  an  English  standpoint  this  campaign  was 
partially  successful.  Savannah  was  captured,  and 
Georgia  and  part  of  South  Carolina  were  overrun. 
Several  American  armies  were  utterly  destroyed. 
But  when  the  inefficient  Gates  was  superseded  by 
Greene  the  tide  turned  in  favor  of  the  Americans. 
At  King's  Mountain  and  at  the  Cowpens  small 
British  forces  were  utterly  destroyed.  The  in- 
decisive battle  of  Guilford  Courthouse  so  weakened 
the  British  army  that  Cornwallis,  with  Greene  in 
pursuit,  retreated  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 
With  the  exception  of  Charleston  and  Savannah, 


46  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

Greene  compelled  the  British  to  evacuate  all  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Meanwhile  Corn- 
wallis  marched  north  and  fortified  Yorktown. 
Here  he  was  attacked  by  the  combined  French  and 
American  forces,  and  compelled  to  surrender, 
October  19,  1781.  Cornwallis'  surrender  practi- 
cally ended  the  war. 

S.S.  163-172;  M.  144-146;  E.  II.  88. 

Ill   Results 

England  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the 
American  colonies;  they  were  given  control  of  the 
territory  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  Florida; 
England  secured  the  right  to  navigate  the  Missis- 
sippi; the  Americans  obtained  the  right  to  fish  on 
the  Newfoundland  Banks,  and  the  republican  spirit 
received  a  remarkable  stimulus  throughout  the 
world. 

S.S,  173;  M.  149-152;  E.  II.  95-101. 


GOVERNMENT  DURING  THE  REVOLUTION,  AND 
PRIOR  TO  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  PRESENT 
CONSTITUTION 

The  central  government,  which  controlled  the  general 
affairs  of  the  country  during  the  Revolution,  was  vested 
in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  colonial  governments 
were  changed  to  state  governments.  During  the  latter 
part  of  the  Revolution  a  written  constitution,  called  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  was  adopted.  The  government 
created  by  this  constitution  conducted  the  general  affairs 
of  the  country  until  the  present  constitution  came  into 
effect. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  47 

The  first  Continental  Congress  met  in  1774,  and  the 
second  in  1775.  The  Congress  which  controlled  affairs 
to  the  clcse  of  the  Revolution  may  well  be  termed  the 
Continental  Congress.  The  people  from  the  various 
states  elected  delegates  to  this  Congress.  It  was  never 
formally  granted  power  from  any  source,  but  the  people 
recognized  the  fact  that  there  must  be  some  general 
authority,  and  its  acts  were  usually  complied  with. 

I  State  Government 

When  the  colonies  declared  their  independence, 
there  were  no  longer  any  legal  colonial  governments. 
The  colonial  governments  were  created  by  the  author- 
ity of  England,  and  when  that  authority  was  abolished 
these  governments  ceased  to  exist.  At  the  suggestion 
of  Congress  the  states  adopted  written  constitutions 
consistent  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
These  writtten  constitutions  mark  the  beginning  of 
the  present  state  governments. 

M.  155;  E.  II.  80-82. 

II  Central  Government 

1.  Under  the  Continental  Congress 

S.S.  124-125;  M.  121-122,  128-129;  E.  II.  60-63, 
73-80. 

2.  Under  the  Articles  of  Confederation 

a.  The  Northwest  Territory  and  the  Ordinance  of 

1787 

This  is  very  important,  as  forming  the  basis 
of  all  territorial  government  in  the  United 
States.  The  fact  should  be  emphasized  that 
this  document,  providing  as  it  did  for  the  terri- 


48  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

torial  organization  of  the  public  domain  lying 
north  of  the  Ohio  and  west  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  forever  prohibiting  slavery  or  involuntary 
servitude  therein  except  as  a  punishment  for 
crime,  occupies  a  place  in  American  political 
development  second  only  to  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. 

S.S.  179-180;  M.  159-162;  E.  II.  107-109. 

b.  The  Defects  of  the  Confederation 

The  government  created  by  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  which,  although  drawn  up  by 
the  Continental  Congress  in  1777,  did  not  go 
into  effect  until  1781,  proved  very  inadequate. 
Its  leading  defects  were,  — 

(1)  The  lack  of  an  executive  body  to  enforce 

the  laws  of  Congress. 

(2)  The  absence  of  a  judicial  body  to   settle 

disputed  points  of  law. 

(3)  The  limited  powers  granted  to  the  legis- 

lature. 

The  Congress  created  by  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  could  not  levy  taxes  or 
regulate  commerce, — both  of  which  are 
the  necessary  powers  of  a  strong  cen- 
tral government.  As  a  result  of  this 
inefficient  control  of  national  affairs,  the 
credit  of  the  United  States  became  very 
poor  among  foreign  nations,  paper  money 
became  almost  worthless,  the  commerce 
of  the  states  was  almost  destroyed,  riots 
took  place  in  some  of  the  states,  and 
property  interests  became  unsafe.  Be- 
cause of  the  above  weakness  in  the  Arti- 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  49 

cles  of  Confederation,  the  people  generally- 
desired  a  stronger  central  government, 
S.S.  179-180;   M.  155-156;  E.  II.  102- 
119. 

THE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION   OF   1787 

The  constitutional  convention  is  distinctly  an  Ameri- 
can institution,  and  the  one  which  framed  the  present 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant one  which  has  ever  been  held  in  America.  The 
pupil  and  teacher  should  study  carefully  the  work  of  this 
Convention,  and  as  far  as  possible  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  its  proceedings. 

I       Events  Leading  to  the  Convention 

Since  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Washington, 
Hamilton,  and  other  leading  statesmen  of  America, 
had  been  urging  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  cen- 
tral government  with  powers  sufficient  for  the  con- 
trol of  all  national  affairs.  As  the  general  condition 
of  the  states  became  more  and  more  unsettled  and 
unsatisfactory,  and  property  interests  became  en- 
dangered, men  of  affairs  everywhere  were  anxious 
for  a  strong,  stable  government.  In  order  to  revive 
the  rapidly  declining  commerce  of  the  states,  due 
largely  to  the  fact  that  each  state  levied  a  different 
rate  of  import  duty,  Virginia  issued  an  invitation 
to  a  few  of  her  sister  states  to  send  delegates  to  a 
convention  to  be  held  at  Annapolis  in  February. 
1777.  This  convention  recommended  that  all  the 
states  send  delegates  to  a  new  convention,  to  meet 
in  Philadelphia  in  May,  1777,  "to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  situation  of  the  United  States,"  and 
make  provisions  for  a  stronger  central  government. 


50  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

II     The  Constitutional  Convention 

This  Convention,  which  met  at  Philadelphia,  May 
25,  1787,  numbered  among  its  members  the  ablest 
statesmen  in  America.  Here  were  to  be  found  nearly 
all  the  men  who  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
American  affairs  during  the  fifty  preceding  years. 
These  men  framed  a  constitution  which  has  endured 
for  more  than  one  hundred  years,  and  which  has 
answered  the  requirements  of  a  nation  that  has  ex- 
panded beyond  the  fondest  dreams  of  any  of  those 
who  took  part  in  the  Constitutional  Convention. 
While  the  Convention  was  called  for  the  purpose  of 
amending  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  its  members 
did  not  believe  this  feasible,  and  they  at  once  began 
work  on  a  new  constitution. 

1.  Leading  Men  of  the  Convention 

Study  briefly  the  work  of   the  following  men: 
Washington,   Franklin,  Hamilton,  Madison,  El- 
bridge  Gerry,  Kobert  Morris,  and  Charles  Pinckney. 
S.S.;  M.j  E.  II.     (See  indexes.) 

2.  Proceedings  of  the  Convention 

Though  the  questions  discussed  were  intricate 
and  the  interests  of  the  states  often  conflicting, 
the  proceedings  were  marked  by  calm  deliberation. 
The  questions  on  which  the  Convention  found  it 
difficult  to  agree  were  those  concerning  the  nature 
of  the  national  government,  representation  in 
Congress,  and  control  of  commerce. 

Some  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  favored 
making  the  states  practically  independent;  others 
favored  the  creation  of  a  centralized  government 
similar  to  the  present  republic  of  France,  in  which 
the  powers  of  the  states  would  be  restricted  to  purely 
local  affairs.      It  was  finally  decided  to  delegate 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  51 

to  the  national  government  all  powers  necessary 
to  the  control  of  national  affairs,  but  the  states 
were  to  retain  all  powers  not  specifically  granted 
to  the  national  government.  This  left  to  the 
states  sufficient  powers  for  the  control  of  all  in- 
ternal affairs. 

The  smaller  states  desired  equal  representation 
in  both  houses  of  Congress,  while  the  larger  states 
contended  that  the  representation  in  both  houses 
should  be  according  to  population.  The  disagree- 
ment on  this  point  was  so  emphatic  that  for  a 
while  it  looked  as  though  the  Convention  would 
adjourn  without  accomplishing  the  object  for 
which  it  had  met.  This  question  was  finally 
settled  by  giving  each  state  equal  representation 
in  the  Senate  and  basing  the  representation  in 
the  House  on  population.  For  the  purpose  of 
representation  and  direct  taxation,  three  fifths  of 
the  slave  population  was  to  be  counted. 

The  third  point  of  disagreement  was  on  the 
national  control  of  commerce.  The  commercial 
states  were  in  favor  of  placing  the  control  of  com- 
merce entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  national  govern- 
ment. The  agricultural  states  wished  to  retain 
the  power  of  controlling  commerce,  and  the 
Southern  States  desired  the  free  importation  of 
slaves.  It  was  finally  agreed  that  the  national 
government  should  control  commerce,  but  the  im- 
portation of  slaves  was  not  to  be  interfered  with 
prior  to  1808. 

S.S.  182-186;  M.  165-168;  E.  II.  121-128. 

3.  Sources  of  the  Constitution 

It  is  supposed  by  many  that  the  Constitution 


52  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

of  the  United  States  was  created  by  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention.  Even  Gladstone  has  referred 
to  it  as  the  greatest  document  ever  struck  off  at 
one  time  by  the  hand  of  man.  This  idea  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  Constitution  is  not  correct.  The 
political  ideas  contained  in  the  Constitution  were 
being  developed  by  the  colonial  governments  and 
colonial  unions  for  more  than  a  century  before  its 
adoption.  Great  political  wisdom  on  the  part  of 
the  members  of  the  Convention  was  shown  in 
formulating  these  ideas  into  a  practical  constitu- 
tion and  in  adding  new  ones.  The  Convention  is 
entitled  to  great  credit  for  this,  but  it  should  not 
be  assumed  that  its  members  created  these  ideas. 
M.  168-169;  E.  II.  124-125. 

4.  General  Features  of  Government  Provided  for  in  the 

Constitution 

The  Constitution  created  three  departments  of 
government,  each,  in  a  general  way,  independent 
of  the  other.  The  departments  are, —  The  legis- 
lative, or  law-making  department,  consisting  of 
two  Houses,  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives; the  executive,  or  law-executing  department, 
now  consisting  of  a  President,  the  President's 
Cabinet,  ministers,  postmasters,  and  other  officers; 
and  the  judicial,  or  law-interpreting  department, 
now  consisting  of  a  Supreme  Court,  Circuit  Courts, 
District  Courts,  Circuit  Courts  of  Appeal,  and  a 
Court  of  Claims.1 

1  The  fact  should  be  brought  out  here  that  the  Constitution  is 
a  mere  skeleton,  which,  since  its  adoption,  has  been  clothed  with 
flesh  and  blood  through  Congressional  legislation  and  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  53 

EIGHTH -YEAR    WORK 

GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES1 

In  the  city,  county,  state,  and  nation,  government  is 
divided  into  three  departments, — legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial.  In  the  state  and  in  the  nation  the  legisla- 
tive department  consists  of  two  houses. 

Government  is  divided  into  three  departments  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  an  abuse  of  power  on  the  part 
of  officials,  and  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  maturer 
consideration  of  laws,  both  in  their  making  and  execu- 
tion. If  the  same  body  of  men  made  the  laws  and  exe- 
cuted them,  and  had  the  power  to  say  whether  they  were 

1  Before  beginning  this  year's  work  in  history  proper,  the 
pupil  should  have  a  general  knowledge  of  government  in  the 
United  States.  Do  not  attempt  to  hold  in  mind  many  details, — 
as  the  salaries,  the  names,  and  the  minor  powers  and  duties  of 
the  various  officials, — but  have  clearly  fixed  in  mind  what  con- 
stitutes the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  departments  of 
the  city,  county,  state,  and  national  governments.  The  pupil 
should  be  able  to  state  how  the  members  of  each  department  are 
elected,  and  the  general  powers  and  duties  connected  with  each 
department.  He  should  understand  why  it  is  necessary  for  gov- 
ernment to  be  divided  into  three  separate  fields,  and  what  advan- 
tages are  secured,  in  national  and  state  government,  by  having 
two  houses  in  the  legislative  department. 

The  pupil  should  devote  no  more  time  to  this  subject  than 
will  be  required  to  understand  the  general  features  of  government 
as  outlined  in  this  note,  and  under  no  circumstances  should  this 
time  exceed  more  than  one  school  month,  as  the  remainder  of 
the  time  will  be  required  for  the  work  in  history. 

In  studying  this  topic,  use  Duvall's  Civil  Government  Simpli- 
fied (The  Whitaker  and  Ray  Company,  San  Francisco).  The  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  and  some  good  civil  government 
should  be  continually  referred  to. 


54  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

in  conflict  with  constitutions  or  other  laws,  they  would 
very  likely  abuse  their  privileges,  and  they  might  even 
attempt  to  overthrow  popular  government.  History 
contains  so  many  proofs  of  this  fact  that  the  people  of 
the  United  States  insist  that  law-making,  law-enforcing, 
and  law- judging  shall  each  be  done  by  a  different  body 
of  men.  Aside  from  preventing  an  abuse  of  power  and 
an  attempt  to  overthrow  popular  government,  this  method 
secures  better  services  in  each  case.  A  body  devoting 
its  entire  time  either  to  law-making,  law-executing,  or 
law- judging  will  do  better  work  than  if  it  attempts  to 
perform  all  the  functions  of  government  at  the  same 
time. 

The  legislative  department  is  divided  into  two  branches 
in  order  to  secure  a  maturer  consideration  of  laws.  One 
house  serves  as  a  check  on  the  other,  and  thus  tends  to 
prevent  hasty  discussion  and  hasty  action.  A  proposed 
law  which  must  pass  two  houses  will  usually  receive  a 
more  thorough  consideration  than  it  would  if  required  to 
pass  but  one  legislative  body.  The  members  of  that 
body  which  is  usually  termed  the  lower  branch  of  the 
legislature  are  always  elected  by  the  direct  vote  of  the 
people,  and,  as  a  rule,  this  is  true  of  the  upper  branch. 
The  members  of  the  upper  branch  of  the  national  legis- 
lature, however,  are  elected  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  states.  The  original  object  of  this  was  to  have 
the  states  represented  in  the  Senate  as  political  units. 
Since  the  formation  of  political  parties,  however,  the 
election  of  Senators  is  decided  by  the  dominant  political 
party  of  a  state,  and,  consequently,  the  original  object 
which  their  election  by  the  legislature  was  intended  to 
fulfill  is  no  longer  secured. 

The  chief  executive  officers  of  the  city,  county,  state, 
and  nation  are  elected  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  people. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  55 

In  theory  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  elected 
indirectly  by  the  people,  but  in  practice  it  amounts  to  a 
direct  vote.  The  judicial  officers  of  the  nation  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  con- 
firmed by  the  United  States  Senate.  The  judicial  officers 
of  cities,  counties,  and  states  are  usually  elected  by  a 
direct  vote  of  the  people. 


WASHINGTON'S   ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  the  events  of  this 
administration,  read  carefully  the  references  given  below 
(see  note,  page  18): 

S.S.  190-205;  M.  197-209;  E. II.  137-164. 

I      Organization  of  the  New  Government 

The  important  work  of  putting  the  machinery  of 
the  new  government  into  operation  devolved  upon 
Washington  and  Congress. 

1.  Organization  of  the  Executive 

The  Constitution  does  not  provide  for  the 
President's  Cabinet.  It  was  seen,  however,  that 
the  President  would  require  assistance  in  enforcing 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  Congress  pro- 
ceeded to  create  various  executive  departments 
under  the  control  of  the  President.  The  secretaries 
of  these  departments  constitute  the  President's 
Cabinet.  The  number  of  Cabinet  officers  has  been 
increased  from  time  to  time. 

S.S.  192-193;  M.  198;  E.  II.  143-145. 

2.  Organization  of  the  Judicial  Department 

The  Supreme  Court  was  established  by  the 
Constitution,  and  Congress   was  given  power  to 


56  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

organize  such  inferior  courts  as  might  be  required 
from  time  to  time.  It  established  Federal  courts 
inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  following 
order:  Circuit  Courts,  District  Courts,  Court  of 
Claims,  and  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals. 
S.S.  193;  M.  197;  E.  II.  145-146. 

II     Legislation 

1.  Tariff,  or  Import  Duties 

In  order  to  secure  revenue  for  the  new  govern- 
ment, Congress  at  once  proceeded  to  levy  import 
duties.  During  the  discussion  of  the  bill  for  this 
purpose,  the  question  as  to  whether  one  of  the 
main  objects  of  import  duties  should  be  the  pro- 
tection of  American  industries  was  first  brought 
before  the  American  people. 

S.S.  191-192;  M.  197;  E.  II.  146-147. 

2.  Financial  Legislation 

The  new  government  found  the  national 
treasury  empty  and  the  credit  of  the  United 
States  among  foreign  nations  almost  worthless. 
Alexander  Hamilton  was  made  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  and  brought  forward  a  plan  for  placing 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  government  on  a  firm 
foundation.  This  plan  proved  him  to  be  one  of 
the  ablest  financiers  in  the  United  States.  His 
plan  was  as  follows: 

a.  A   slight  increase  in   the   duties    laid  by  the 

first  tariff. 

b.  An  excise  or   internal   tax   to   be  placed  on 

distilled  liquors. 

c.  The.  funding  of  the  national  debt. 

The  old  bonds  of  the  nation  had  fallen  to 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  57 

twenty-five  per  cent  of  their  face  value.     New 
United  States  bonds  were  to  be  issued  for  the 
total  face  value  of  the  old. 
d.  The  assumption  of  state  debts. 

Debts   contracted  by  the  states  during  the 
Revolution  were  to  be  assumed  and  paid  in  full 
by  the  national  government. 
e.    Establishment  of  a  United  States  Bank. 

The  management  of  the  bank  was  to  be 
private,  but  the  United  States  was  to  be  a  large 
shareholder,  reserving  the  right  of  examining 
into  its  financial  condition. 

After  much  discussion  the  different  portions 
of  Hamilton's  plan  were  adopted,  with  the  result 
that  confidence  and  credit  were  at  once  restored, 
and  business  resumed  a  normal  condition. 
S.S.  194;  M.  198-201;  E.  II.  147-151. 

Ill   Origin    of    American    Neutrality    in    European 

Affairs 

In  1793  war  broke  out  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  was  in  favor  of  assisting  France.  To  do  this 
meant  the  destruction  of  American  commerce  and 
war  with  the  English  and  the  Indians  along  the 
frontiers  of  the  United  States.  It  also  meant  that 
the  United  States  should  be  involved  in  European 
struggles  which  did  not  affect  American  affairs. 
The  time,  therefore,  had  come  when  the  United 
States  must  decide  whether  she  would  meddle  in 
European  affairs  not  concerning  her  and  which  must 
often  involve  a  useless  loss  of  life  and  property,  or 
whether  she  would  remain  neutral.  Washington 
foresaw  the  vast  importance  of  this  decision,  and 


58  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

after  mature  deliberation  announced  that  the  policy 
of  the  United  States  should  be  non-interference 
in  European  affairs.  This  decision  has  marked 
Washington  as  a  statesman  of  the  highest  rank. 
The  people  all  over  the  United  States,  in  mass  meet- 
ing and  through  the  press,  were  urging  the  govern- 
ment to  assist  France,  but  Washington  held  fast  to 
his  purpose,  and  was  finally  sustained  by  Congress. 
Thus  was  born  "American  Neutrality,"  and  the 
United  States  has  ever  held  steadfastly  to  that  prin- 
ciple. The  importance  to  the  United  States  of  this 
principle  or  unwritten  law  can  hardly  be  overesti- 
mated. It  has  saved  this  nation  from  many  a 
bloody  and  useless  war,  and  has  permitted  it  to 
develop  its  natural  resources  unmolested  by  Euro- 
pean quarrels  and  conflicts.  The  United  States 
under  Washington  established  the  unwritten  law 
that  she  should  not  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Europe 
which  did  not  concern  her,  and  thirty  years  later, 
under  Monroe,  she  established  the  unwritten  law 
that  no  European  nation  should  interfere  with  strictly 
American  affairs  unless  directly  concerned. 
M.  206-208;  E.  II.  158-160. 

IV    The  Rise  of  Political  Parties 

Political  parties  in  the  United  States  had  their 
real  origin  during  Washington's  administration. 
They  began  with  the  difference  of  opinion  on  the 
part  of  the  people  and  statesmen  of  the  United  States 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  new  government.  Washing- 
ton, Hamilton,  and  Adams  were  the  leaders  of  those 
who  believed  that  the  constitution  should  be  loosely 
interpreted;  that  is,  that  the  new  government  should 
exercise  not  only  the  powers  specifically  granted  to 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  59 

it  by  the  constitution,  but  that  it  should  also  assume 
such  implied  powers  as  might  be  necessary  to  carry 
out  those  powers  specifically  delegated  to  it.  They 
also  believed  that  the  government  should  be  con- 
trolled by  the  wealthier  classes.  Jefferson  and 
Madison  were  the  leaders  of  those  who  believed  that 
the  constitution  should  be  strictly  construed, — that 
Congress  should  assume  no  implied  powers.  They 
did  not  believe  that  the  government  should  be  con- 
trolled by  the  wealthier  classes.  They  had  faith  in 
the  common  people,  and  believed  that  the  affairs  of 
government  could  be  safely  intrusted  to  them. 
Property  qualification  as  a  test  for  voting  has  since 
been  abolished,  and  to-day,  in  this  respect,  the  ideas 
of  Jefferson  prevail,  though  he  himself,  in  a  measure, 
became  a  convert  to  the  loose  construction  of  the 
constitution.  Washington,  Hamilton,  Adams,  and 
their  followers  became  known  as  the  Federal  Party, 
and  Jefferson  and  his  party  were  called  the  Anti- 
Federal  or  Republican  party. 

S.S.  200-201;  M.  197-205;  E.  II.  155-157. 

Invention  of  the  Cotton-Gin 

In  1793,  Eli  Whitney  invented  the  cotton-gin. 
This  machine  has  had  more  influence  on  the  political 
and  industrial  history  of  our  country  than  any  other 
American  invention.  It  made  cotton  the  leading 
product  of  the  South,  and  increased  a  thousand-fold 
the  value  of  slave  labor,  in  the  work  of  separating 
the  seeds  from  the  cotton. 

S.S.  204-205;  M.  195-196. 


60  A  TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

ADAMS'   ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  events  of  this  ad- 
ministration, read  carefully  the  following  references  (see 
note,  page  18): 

S.S.  206-210;  M.  209-215;  E.  II.  164-175. 

I  Breach  with  France 

The  Jay  treaty  with  England  prevented  a  war 
between  the  United  States  and  that  nation  and  gave 
to  England  valuable  commercial  rights.  France 
was  irritated  at  the  United  States  for  not  assisting 
her  in  her  war  with  England  in  1793,  and  this  treaty, 
favorable  as  it  was  to  England,  still  further  exaspe- 
rated her.  For  a  while  diplomacy  seemed  unable  to 
avert  a  war  between  the  United  States  and  France, 
and  war  had  actually  begun  on  the  sea,  but  the  uni- 
form success  of  the  American  navy  and  a  change  of 
government  in  France  caused  the  latter  nation  to 
open  diplomatic  relations,  by  which  the  war  was 
averted. 

S.S.  207-208;  M.  210-213;  E. II.  166-168. 

II  The  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts 

The  firm  stand  taken  by  the  Federalists  against 
the  insolence  of  France  made  President  Adams  and 
the  Federalists  very  popular  with  the  people;  but 
the  passage  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  brought 
them  suddenly  into  great  disfavor.  The  Alien  Act 
gave  the  President  power  to  deport  from  the  United 
States  any  foreigners  whom  he  considered  dangerous 
to  the  country.  The  Sedition  Act  gave  the  President 
and  the  officers  of  the  government  the  right  to  im- 
prison those  who  opposed  the  measures  of  the  gov- 
ernment or  spoke  with  disrespect  of  its  officers.    The 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  61 

Sedition  Act  was  aimed  against  the  press,  and  was 
the  first  and  last  attempt  of  the  national  government 
to  interfere  with  its  freedom. 

S.S. 208-209;  M.  211-212;  E. II.  168-170. 

III  The  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions 

The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  were  fiercely  attacked 
by  the  Republicans,  led  by  Jefferson  and  Madison. 
This  opposition  took  definite  shape  in  the  legisla- 
tures of  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  where  it  was 
resolved  that  if  a  national  law  did  not  meet  the  ap- 
proval of  a  state,  the  law  might  be  held  null  and 
void  in  that  state.  These  resolutions  are  of  great 
importance,  because  they  were  the  first  definite  ex- 
pression of  the  doctrine  of  state's  rights  as  opposed 
to  national  authority. 

S.S.  209;  M.  212;  E.  II.  170-171. 

IV  Causes  of  the  Fall  of  the  Federalist  Party 

E. II.  173-175. 


JEFFERSON'S  ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the  events  of  this 
administration,  read  carefully  the  following  references 
(see  note,  page  18): 

S.S.  211-218;  M.  215-228;  E.  II.  176-198. 

Jefferson  was  the  first  Anti-Federalist  or  Republican 
President.  The  success  of  the  Republican  party  was  due 
in  part  to  the  unpopular  laws  of  Adams'  administration, 
but  the  main  cause  of  its  success  was  the  fact  that 
Jefferson  represented  the  rising  democracy  of  the  United 
States.     He  believed  that  the  masses  of  the  people  were 


62  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

capable  of  self-government,  while  the  Federalists  believed 
that  the  wealthy  and  educated  classes  should  control  the 
government.  No  party  advocating  these  ideas  of  the 
Federalists  ever  again  secured  control  of  national  affairs. 

I  The  Purchase  of  Louisiana 

During  the  administrations  of  Washington  and 
Adams,  Jefferson  had  advocated  a  strict  construction 
of  the  constitution,  but  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana 
he  gave  a  looser  construction  to  the  constitution 
than  the  Federalists  had  ever  dared  to  make. 
S.S.  214;  M.  218-219;  E.  II.  185-187. 

II  European  Interference  with  American  Commerce 

From  1803  to  1815,  France  and  England  were 
almost  continuously  at  war.  Each  nation  tried  to 
injure  the  other  by  destroying  its  commerce.  In 
order  to  do  this,  each  would  declare  the  ports  of  the 
other  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  although  they 
were  unable  to  make  such  blockade  effective;  and 
each  claimed  the  right  to  take  as  prizes  all  merchant 
vessels  trading  with  the  enemy  in  violation  of  the 
commercial  regulations  which  each  had  issued. 
This  policy,  if  carried  out,  would  have  resulted  in 
the  destruction  of  American  commerce.  The  United 
States  maintained,  however,  that  a  neutral  state  had 
a  right  to  trade  freely  with  either  of  the  nations  at 
war,  unless  her  ports  were  actually  blockaded.  From 
1803  to  1809,  the  dispute  on  this  point  between  the 
United  States  and  England  and  France  was  almost 
continuous;  and  on  several  occasions  it  came  very 
near  involving  the  United  States  in  war.  In  fact, 
it  would  have  done  so  had  it  not  been  for  the 
weak  attitude  of  President  Jefferson. 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  63 

Jefferson  tried  to  injure  first  England  and  then 
France  by  having  Congress  pass,  first,  an  act  forbid- 
ding the  importation  of  goods  from  England  or  her 
colonies,  and  later  another  act  preventing  the  send- 
ing of  goods  from  the  United  States  to  any  foreign 
nation.  These  laws  were  called  the  Non-Importa- 
tion Act  and  the  Embargo  Act. 

S.S.  216-217;  M.  224-231;  E.  II.  191-198. 

MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  the  work  of  this 
administration,  read  carefully  the  following  references 
(see  note  page  18): 

S.S.  219-232;  M.  233-240;  E.  II.  200-222. 

I.      The  Congress  of  1811 

The  Congress  of  November  4,  1811,  marks  a  new 
epoch  in  American  history.  Very  few  of  the  states- 
men who  controlled  affairs  during  and  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  following  the  Revolution  were  now 
members  of  the  national  legislature.  Statesmen  of 
a  younger  generation  had  come  into  power.  They 
represented  the  young  and  rising  democracy  of 
America,  and  especially  of  the  West.  They  were 
full  of  hope  and  strength,  believed  in  the  future 
greatness  of  the  United  States,  and  were  humiliated 
and  angered  at  the  continuous  insults  offered  this 
nation  by  France  and  England.  From  the  first  they 
were  determined  to  end  this  humiliation,  even  though 
compelled  to  resort  to  war.  The  question  with  them 
was,  Against  which  nation  should  war  be  declared? 
England  and  France  were  almost  equally  guilty. 
S.S.  219-221;  M.  230;  E.  II.  203-205. 


64  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

II.    The  War  of  1812,  or  the  War  for   Commercial 
Independence 

1.  Causes 

The  causes  of  this  war  were  interference  with 
American  trade  and  impressment  of  American 
seamen.  As  Great  Britain  was  the  greater  offender, 
war  was  declared  against  her,  though  the  feeling 
against  France  was  bitter  because  of  her  inter- 
ference with  American  commerce. 

S.S.  221-222;  M.  231;  E.  II.  205-206. 

2.  The  War  on  Land 

In  this  war  the  Americans  were,  as  a  rule,  un- 
successful in  their  campaigns  on  land.  The  sol- 
diers were  untrained,  and  the  officers,  frequently 
owing  their  appointments  to  political  reasons, 
were  generally  incompetent.  Neither  nation,  how- 
ever, was  successful  in  invading  the  territory  of 
the  other.  The  two  most  notable  land  events  of 
the  war  were  the  capture  of  Washington  by  the 
British  and  the  disastrous  defeat  of  an  army  of 
British  veterans  at  New  Orleans  by  General 
Jackson. 
S.S.  223-228;  M.  233,  235,  238;    E.  II.  209-210, 

212-214. 

3.  The  War  on  the  Ocean 

Although,  at  the  beginning  of  this  war,  the 
Americans  had  but  twelve  vessels  as  against  Eng- 
land's twelve  hundred,  the  American  navy  suc- 
ceeded in  winning  a  series  of  brilliant  victories, 
and  often  against  great  odds.  Because  of  Eng- 
land's superiority  in  the  number  of  ships,  most 
of  the  American  vessels  were  finally  either  driven 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  65 

from  the  sea  or  blockaded  in  the  harbors  of  the 
United  States.  Perhaps  even  more  important 
than  the  work  of  the  regular  navy  was  the  injury 
which  American  privateers  did  to  the  commerce 
of  England. 
S.S.  228-229;  M.  234-236;  E.  II.  210-212. 

4.  Results 

The  points  of  dispute  which  caused  the  war 
were  not  mentioned  in  the  treaty  of  peace.  The 
treaty  provided  for  the  restoration  of  the  con- 
quests of  both  parties,  and  arranged  for  the  settle- 
ment of  boundary  disputes  and  other  minor 
points. 

But  the  main  result  of  this  war  was  the  com- 
mercial independence  of  the  United  States,  and 
never  since  then  has  any  nation  interfered  with 
American  commerce  or  attempted  the  impress- 
ment of  American  seamen.  The  destruction  of 
American  commerce  caused  the  birth  of  American 
factories,  for  during  the  war  the  people  of  the 
country  were  compelled  to  rely  upon  home 
industry  for  their  manufactured  goods.  The 
naval  success  of  the  Americans  won  the  respect 
and  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

S.S.  229-230;  M.  239;  E.  II.  218-222. 


MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  the  work  of  this 
administration,  read  carefully  the  following  references 
(see  note,  page  18): 

S.S.  233-239;  M.  259-265;  E.  II.  231-244. 


66  A  TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

The  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Federalist  party  to  the  war  of  1812  was  the  death-blow 
of  that  organization.  During  Monroe's  administration 
there  was  scarcely  any  discussion  of  party  politics,  —  so 
little,  in  fact,  that  the  period  has  been  called  the  "  Era  of 
Good  Feeling."  It  was  characterized  by  wonderful  in- 
dustrial progress,  and  a  rapid  growth  in  the  idea  of 
national  unity.  The  influence  of  the  nation  abroad  was 
rapidly  increasing. 

I  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court 

The  Supreme  Court,  in  a  series  of  important  de- 
cisions, firmly   established   the    supremacy   of   the 
national  government,  and  in  many  cases  specifically 
defined  the  limits  of  the  state  governments. 
E.  II.  234-236. 

II  Missouri  Compromise 

The  Missouri  Compromise  had  its  origin  in  the 
desire  of  the  free  and  the  slave  states  to  each  prevent 
the  other  from  securing  a  larger  number  of  repre- 
sentatives in  the  United  States  Senate. 

The  Northern  States,  having  a  larger  population 
than  the  Southern,  would  always  have  a  majority  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  Southern  States, 
knowing  this,  were  determined  to  have  control  of  as 
many  votes  in  the  Senate  as  the  Northern  States,  and 
thus  be  in  a  position  to  prevent  any  legislation  in- 
jurious to  the  slavery  interests.  In  order  to  retain 
this  control  a  slave  state  must  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  with  every  free  state.  This  required  that  the 
territory  included  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase  should 
be  half  slave  and  half  free.  The  North  was  de- 
termined that  it  should  be  all  free,  and  when  the 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  67 

bill  for  the  admission  of  Missouri  came  before  Con- 
gress threats  of  disunion  were  freely  made  by  the 
South.  It  was  finally  settled  by  a  measure  in  Con- 
gress known  as  the  Missouri  Compromise.  The 
terms  of  this  Compromise  were: 

( 1 )  Maine  should  be  admitted  as  a  free  state,  and 

Missouri  as  a  slave  state. 

(2)  The   Louisiana  Purchase  should  be  divided  by 

the  parallel  of  36°  30',  and  in  all  territory 
north  of  the  line,  excepting  Missouri,  slavery 
should  be  forever  prohibited 
S.S.  235;  M.  275-276;  E.  II.  236-241. 

Ill  The  Monroe  Doctrine 

About  1815  Russia  announced  that  she  claimed 
the  Pacific  Coast  from  Alaska  down  to  the  51st  par- 
allel, and  that  no  foreign  vessel  could  approach 
within  100  miles  of  the  shore.  It  was  her  evident 
intention  to  shut  the  United  States  out  from  the 
Pacific  Coast.  John  Quincy  Adams,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  entered  a  vigorous  protest  against  these  de- 
signs of  Russia,  in  which  he  stated  that  neither 
North  nor  South  America  was  subject  to  further 
European  colonization.  Between  1810  and  1822 
all  of  the  Spanish- American  colonies  in  North  and 
South  America,  taking  advantage  of  the  weakened 
condition  of  Spain,  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke  and 
established  independent  republics,  which  were  recog- 
nized by  the  United  States  as  independent  powers. 
These  republics  included  Mexico  and  all  of  South 
America,  save  Brazil,  which  still  belonged  to  Portugal. 
In  1815  nearly  all  of  the  European  powers  except 
England  formed  what  is  known  as  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance, their  object  being  to  perpetuate  monarchical 


68  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

government  and  to  assist  Spain  in  the  recovery  of 
her  lost  possessions.  Great  Britain  proposed  that 
the  United  States  combine  with  her  against  this 
Holy  Alliance.  The  United  States  declined  to  act 
in  concert  with  Great  Britain,  but  President  Monroe, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Adams,  included  in  his  annual 
message  to  Congress  a  statement  known  as  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  This  statement  defined  the  atti- 
tude of  the  United  States  on  the  question  of  European 
colonization  in  the  New  World  and  European  inter- 
ference with  American  republics.  The  doctrine  has 
ever  since  been  adhered  to  by  the  United  States,  and 
is  in  substance  as  follows: 

(1)  European   nations  will  not    be  permitted   to 

establish  any  new  colonies  in  America  or  to 
add  any  more  territory  to  those  already 
existing. 

(2)  European  nations  will  not  be  permitted  to  in- 

terfere with  the  internal  affairs  of  American 
republics. 
The  Monroe  Doctrine  was  the  logical  result  of  the 
principle   of  American    Neutrality   established   by 
Washington. 

SS.  236-237;  M.  262-265;  E.  II.  241-244. 


JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS'   ADMINISTRATION 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  this  administra- 
tion, read  carefully  the  following  references  (see  note, 
page  18): 

S.S.  240-245;  M.  297-300;  E.  II.  248-262. 

All  of  the  candidates  for  President  in  1824  were  Repub- 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  69 

licans,  there  being  no  other  organized  political  party. 
Most  of  the  national  legislation  during  this  administra- 
tion was  influenced  by  the  personal  aims  and  ambitions 
of  the  various  statesmen,  and  had  for  its  main  object  the 
support  or  defeat  of  the  aspirations  of  some  possible 
candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

The  principal  events  of  this  administration  were  the 
passage  of  laws  regarding  internal  improvements;  the 
disagreement  between  Congress  and  the  President  con- 
cerning the  rights  of  the  Creek  and  the  Cherokee  Indians 
in  the  state  of  Georgia;  and  the  passage  of  a  high  tariff 
known  as  the  "  Tariff  of  Abominations." 

S.S.  241-244;  E.  II.  253-258. 


PROGRESS     OF     THE     UNITED    STATES    FROM 

1790   TO   1825 

I       Our  Country  in  1790 

There  were  about  four  millions  of  people  in  the 
United  States  in  1790.  Of  these  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  were  slaves.  Very  few  of  these  people 
lived  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The  country 
abounded  in  natural  resources,  but  they  were  un- 
developed. It  required  two  months  for  a  courier  to 
go  from  the  seat  of  government  to  the  most  distant 
frontier.  Jefferson  said  that  it  would  be  a  thousand 
years  before  the  country  would  be  thickly  populated 
as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi.  The  chief  sources  of 
wealth  were  agriculture  and  commerce.  Nearly  all 
manufactured  articles  were  imported  from  England. 

M.  175-176;  E.  II.  138-139. 


70  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

II     Industrial  Development 

1.  Immigration  and  Emigration 

One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  in- 
dustrial development  of  the  United  States  at  this 
period  was  the  wave  of  immigration  flowing 
toward  America.  Refugees  from  France,  and 
laborers  from  England,  Ireland,  and  Germany, 
came  to  America  in  such  numbers  that  it  seemed 
as  if  all  Europe  were  coming  to  the  new  republic. 
Another  important  factor  was  the  migration  of 
many  people,  who  left  their  old  homes  in  the 
Eastern  States  and  moved  to  the  west  of  the 
Alleghanies,  carrying  with  them  their  laws  and  in- 
stitutions. This  stream  of  emigration  moved  west- 
ward in  three  channels.  The  first,  composed 
largely  of  people  from  New  England,  pushed  along 
the  borders  of  Lake  Champlain  and  up  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk.  The  second,  made  up  of  settlers 
from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  passed  into  the 
valleys  of  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  The 
third  stream  came  from  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  emigrants  settled  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tennessee  River.  The  Southern  stream  settled  the 
country  south  of  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line.  The 
two  Northern  streams  settled  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  known  as  the  Northwest  Territory,  from 
which  were  created  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin. 
S.S.  202-203;  M.  241-242;  E.  II.  246;  E.  III.  4-5. 

2.  Modes  of  Travel  and  Communication 

In  1790  the  means  of  travel  and  communication 
were  of  the  same  rude  kinds  which  prevailed  dur- 
ing colonial  times.     For  forty  years  scarcely  any 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  71 

improvements  in  transportation  had  been  made. 
But  the  travel  incident  to  the  mighty  stream  of 
emigration  now  moving  westward  gave  a  powerful 
stimulus  to  improvements  in  the  means  of  trans- 
portation. The  demands  of  the  hour  for  better 
and  more  rapid  communication  led  to  the  digging 
of  canals,  the  building  of  roads  and  bridges,  and 
finally  to  the  construction  of  railroads  and  tele- 
graph lines. 

S.S.  236;    M.  187-189,  252-253;    E.  II.  224-225, 
227-228,  253;  E.  III.  4-5. 

3.  Inventions 

The  two  most  important  inventions  of  this  period 
were  the  cotton-gin  by  Eli  Whitney  in  1793,  and 
the  steamboat  by  Robert  Fulton  in  1807.  In  a 
few  years  steamboats  appeared  on  the  Ohio,  the 
Mississippi,  and  the  Great  Lakes.  They  aided 
greatly  in  the  settlement  of  the  western  part  of 
the  United  States. 

S.S.  212,  253;  E.  III.  5. 

4.  Our  Country  in  1825 

The  population  of  the  country  had  now  in- 
creased to  the  neighborhood  of  twelve  millions. 
The  center  of  population  was  gradually  moving 
toward  the  West.  Old  cities  were  declining,  and 
new  ones  springing  up.  New  York  was  rapidly 
approaching  the  two -hundred -thousand  mark, 
which  it  reached  in  1830.  "  This  growth  of  popu- 
lation, it  is  important  to  note,  had  not  been 
creative  of  cities,  so  much  as  of  simple  and,  for 
the  most  part,  sparsely  settled  agricultural  com- 


72  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

muni  ties,  living  each  its  own  arduous,  narrow  life 
in  comparative  isolation."1 
M.  279-291;  E.  II.  260-261;  E.  III.  2-8. 


JACKSON'S    AND   VAN    BUREN'S    ADMINISTRA- 
TIONS 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  view  of  these  administra- 
tions, read  carefully  the  following  references  (see  note, 
page  18): 

S.S.  246-253;  M.  294-317;  E.  III.  23-115. 

The  election  of  Jackson  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  United  States.  Almost  as 
many  states  had  been  created  out  of  the  territory  between 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi  as  had  at 
first  comprised  the  nation.  These  new  states  represented 
the  vigorous,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  rough  frontier, 
life  of  the  republic.  They  represented  the  rising  democ- 
racy,—  the  belief  that  one  man  is  as  good  as  another,  irre- 
spective of  his  wealth  or  birth.  The  effect  on  American 
politics  of  this  belief  is  first  seen  in  the  election  of  Jeffer- 
son, and  later  in  the  election  of  the  war  Congress  of  1812. 
All  of  the  Presidents  before  Jackson,  however,  belonged 
to  the  wealthy,  cultured,  and  aristocratic  class. 

Jackson  was  one  of  the  common  people.  His  life  had 
been  an  almost  continuous  struggle  with  poverty  and 
adverse  circumstances.  He  was  blunt  in  manner  and 
speech,  headstrong  and  independent.  He  typified  the 
rough  frontier  life  of  the  Western  States.  He  could  see 
nothing  good  in  an  enemy  and  nothing  bad  in  a  friend. 
Any  opposition  to  his  public  measures  he  considered  as 

*E.  III.  5-6. 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  73 

a  personal  attack.    With  all  of  his  faults,  he  had  the  wel- 
fare of  the  nation  at  heart. 

Jackson's  election  marks  the  complete  triumph  of 
democracy  in  the  United  States,  the  introduction  of  the 
" Spoils  System"  into  politics,  the  destruction  of  the 
National  Bank  established  by  Hamilton,  and  the  tempo- 
rary suppression  of  secession  in  South  Carolina.  The 
financial  legislation  enacted  by  Congress  during  his  ad- 
ministration and  through  his  influence  caused  the 
financial  panic  of  1837,  and  during  Van  Buren's  admin- 
istration, resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  independent 
treasury  system  which  exists  at  the  present  time. 

I       The  "Spoils  System" 

The  "Spoils  System"  consists  in  the  giving  of  as 
many  offices  as  possible  to  those  who  have  helped 
elect  successful  candidates.  Almost  every  officer  up 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  the  power 
of  appointing  men  and  women  to  office.  If  the  can- 
didate elected  is  a  Democrat  he  usually  appoints 
Democrats  to  office;  if  he  is  a  Republican  he  usually 
appoints  Republicans  to  office.  It  does  not  matter 
how  faithfully  an  officer  may  have  performed  his 
duties,  his  position  is  usually  given  to  some  member 
of  the  successful  party,  and  often  the  new  officer  is 
less  competent  than  the  one  whose  place  he  fills. 
As  a  result  of  this  condition  of  affairs,  public  busi- 
ness frequently  suffers  serious  injury. 

Jackson  was  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  the 
"  Spoils  System  "  into  the  politics  of  the  United  States. 
He  claimed  that  to  the  victors  belonged  the  spoils  of 
office,  —  that  the  successful  candidate  might  fill  the 
offices  under  his  control  with  personal  followers.  Dur- 
ing the  first  nine  months  of  his  administration  Jackson 


74  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

removed  more  than  one  thousand  men  from  office, 
whereas  all  of  the  preceding  Presidents  together  had 
not  removed  more  than  seventy-three,  and  then  only 
for  good  cause,  and  not  because  of  their  political 
connections.  Since  Jackson's  administration  the 
officers  of  both  parties  have  appointed  men  and 
women  to  office  because  of  their  political  influence. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  evil  effects 
of  the  "  Spoils  System  "  have  been  greatly  lessened  by 
the  passage  of  national  legislation  known  as  "the 
Civil  Service  Laws."  These  laws  compel  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  select  certain  officials 
by  means  of  examination,  and  the  officers  thus  se- 
lected cannot  be  removed  except  for  just  cause. 
S.S.  247-248;  E.  III.  30-34. 

II     Nullification  and  Secession 

The  high  tariff  passed  in  Adams'  administration 
was  bitterly  denounced  by  the  people  in  some  of  the 
Southern  States.  The  North  and  South  were  devel- 
oping along  different  lines.  They  were  in  many 
respects  becoming  two  different  peoples.  Because 
of  different  interests,  much  of  the  legislation  favored 
by  one  section  was  opposed  by  the  other.  Under 
Jackson's  administration,  the  tariff  was  the  main 
question  of  difference.  Later  it  was  the  slavery 
question. 

Calhoun,  speaking  for  the  South,  and  especially 
for  South  Carolina,  maintained  that  the  nation  was 
a  mere  compact;  that  a  state  could  nullify  a  law  of 
Congress,  and  had  the  constitutional  right  of  with- 
drawing from  the  Union.  The  legislature  of  South 
Carolina,  taking  this  view  of  the  question,  passed 
resolutions  nullifying  the  tariff  laws.     Jackson,  how- 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  75 

ever,  threatened  to  hang  as  traitors  all  who  forcibly 
resisted   the   collection   of   tariff   duties.     His  firm 
stand,  together    with   a   modification  in   the   tariff 
rates,  checked  the  secession  movement. 
S.S.  249;  M.  301-305;  E.  III.  51-68. 

Ill  The  Bank  of  the  United  States 

The  first  United  States  Bank  was  established  in 
1791,  at  the  suggestion  of  Hamilton.  Its  charter, 
having  a  duration  of  twenty  years,  expired  in  1811. 
The  second  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  estab- 
lished in  1816,  with  privileges  extending  over  a 
similar  period;  thus  its  charter  expired  in  1836. 
The  United  States  held  a  large  number  of  shares 
in  both  of  these  banks,  and  reserved  the  right  to  in- 
spect their  financial  condition  at  any  time.  All  of 
the  surplus  money  of  the  United  States  government 
was  deposited  in  them. 

Jackson  was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  second  bank 
of  the  United  States,  and  before  its  charter  expired, 
withdrew  from  it  all  national  funds,  depositing  them 
in  state  banks.  Through  his  influence  Congress  re- 
fused, in  1836,  to  renew  the  bank's  charter. 

The  depositing  of  the  surplus  money  of  the 
national  government  in  state  banks  brought  about 
the  creation  of  a  large  number  of  state  banks,  which 
proceeded  to  issue  paper  money  to  an  amount  far 
in  excess  of  the  gold  and  silver  which  they  kept  on 
hand  for  purposes  of  redemption.  A  large  part  of 
the  national  taxes  was  paid  in  paper  currency,  and 
a  dollar  of  paper  money  soon  became  of  less  value 
than  a  dollar  of  gold  or  silver.  Jackson,  becoming 
alarmed,  issued  a  letter  known  aBthe  "  Specie  Letter,'1 
which  required  all  of  the  taxes  of  the  United  States 


76  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

to  be  paid  in  gold  or  silver.  Men  at  once  took  their 
paper  money  to  the  banks,  asking  for  gold  and  silver 
in  return.  But  the  banks  had  not  the  gold  and 
silver  with  which  to  redeem  their  paper  money, 
because  they  had  issued  a  far  larger  quantity  of 
paper  money  than  they  could  possibly  redeem.  As 
a  result  of  this  condition  they  were  compelled  to 
close  their  doors.  Paper  money,  being  thus  dis- 
credited, declined  rapidly  in  value;  specie  payments 
were  everywhere  suspended;  thousands  of  men  and 
women  lost  everything  they  had  formerly  possessed; 
factories  were  forced  to  suspend  operation;  and  thus 
was  precipitated  the  financial  crisis  or  panic  of  1837. 
President  Van  Buren,  in  order  to  protect  the 
national  government,  induced  Congress  to  pass  what 
is  known  as  "the  Independent  Treasury  Act." 
Under  the  terms  of  this  act  the  United  States  was 
enabled  to  purchase  such  land  in  the  various  states 
as  might  be  required  for  the  erection  of  government 
buildings  in  which  to  deposit  the  public  money  of 
the  nation.  This  system,  commonly  known  as  the 
Sub-Treasury  System,  has  proven  to  be  very  satis- 
factory. 

S.S.  259-262;  M.  305-311;  E.  III.  69-98. 

IV    The  Nominating  Convention 

Up  to  Jackson's  second  term  the  candidates  for 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States 
had  always  been  nominated  by  Congress  or  by  state 
legislatures.  In  1832,  however,  the  candidates  for 
these  offices  were  nominated  by  national  conventions, 
and  this  has  been  the  custom  ever  since  that  time. 
M.  306;  E.  III.  62-63. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  77 

THE  ADMINISTRATIONS  OF  HARRISON,  TYLER, 
AND   POLK 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  idea  of  these  administra- 
tions, read  thoughtfully  the  following  references  (see 
note,  page  18): 

S.S.  259-279;  M.  320-343;  E.  III.  133-160. 

The  important  feature  of  these  administrations  was 
the  expansion  of  slave  territory,  which  was  secured  by 
the  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  war  with  Mexico.  The 
Southern  leaders  foresaw  that  unless  more  territory  was 
secured  from  which  to  create  new  slave  states  it  would 
be  only  a  question  of  time  before  the  Northern  or  free 
states  would  control  the  national  government.  The 
annexation  of  Texas  was  eagerly  sought  by  the  South, 
and  once  accomplished,  it  was  made  a  pretext  for  war 
with  Mexico,  in  order  that  still  more  territory  might  be 
secured  from  which  to  create  slave  states. 

I  Annexation  of  Texas 

Texas  declared  her  independence  of  Mexico,  but 
Mexico  never  acknowledged  that  independence.  The 
United  States,  however,  annexed  Texas,  and  sent 
United  States  troops  to  the  disputed  boundary  be- 
tween Texas  and  Mexico  to  protect  her  new  territory. 

S.S.  267;  M.  320-322;  E.  III.  141-149. 

II  Mexican  War 
1.  Causes 

The  causes  of  this  war  were  the  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  South  for  more  slave  territory,  the 
annexation    of    Texas,   and   the   occupation   by 


78 


A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 


United    States    troops   of    territory  on   the   Rio 
Grande  claimed  by  Mexico. 

S.S.  274;  M.  326;  E.  III.  149-150. 

2.  Campaigns 

This  war  was  a  series  of  successes  for  the 
American  army.  There  were  but  two  campaigns — 
one  under  Taylor,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  another 
under  Scott,  who  captured  Santa  Cruz  and  then 
marched  upon  and  captured  the  City  of  Mexico. 
S.S.  274-278;  M.  326-328;  E.  III.  150-152. 

3.  Results  of  the  Mexican  War 

a.  Territorial  Results 

The  territorial  result  of  this  war  was  the 
acquisition  by  the  United  States  of  the  fol- 
lowing territory:  California,  Nevada,  Utah, 
Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  part  of  Colorado. 
The  United  States  paid  Mexico  eighteen  mil- 
lion dollars  for  this  territory.  In  1853  the 
United  States  purchased  from  Mexico,  for  ten 
million  dollars,  a  strip  of  territory  west  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  which  is  known  as  the  Gadsden 
Purchase. 

b.  Political  Results 

The  political  result  of  this  war  was  the  re- 
opening of  the  slavery  question.  Representa- 
tive Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  proposed  an 
amendment  —  known  as  the  "Wilmot  Pro- 
viso"— to  a  bill  pending  in  Congress.  This 
proviso  represented  the  position  of  the  North 
regarding  slavery  in  the  territory  secured  from 
Mexico,  and  declared  that  slavery  should  not 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  79 

exist  in  any  of  the  territories.     It  failed  to 
pass  Congress,  but  its  discussion  throughout 
the  country  created  a  very  bitter  feeling  between 
the  North  and  the  South. 
S.S.  275-278;  M.  329,  333;  E.  III.  152-154. 


THE     ADMINISTRATIONS     OF     TAYLOR,     FILL- 
MORE,   PIERCE,   AND    BUCHANAN 

In  order  to  obtain  a  general  view  of  these  administra- 
tions, read  carefully  the  following  references  (see  note, 
page  18): 

S.S.  280-302;  M.  335-363;  E.  III.  161-212. 

The  important  features  of  these  administrations  were 
the  events  which  may  be  considered  as  the  immediate 
causes  of  the  Civil  War.  These  were  the  Compromise  of 
1850, — known  as  the  "Omnibus  Bill,"  —  the  "Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,"  the  "Dred  Scott  Decision,"  and  the 
election  of  Lincoln. 

I       The  Compromise  of  1850 

During  the  discussion  as  to  what  position  slavery 
should  have  in  the  territory  secured  from  Mexico, 
the  feeling  became  so  bitter  in  the  North  and  in  the 
South  that  the  hotter-headed  in  both  sections  made 
open  threats  of  withdrawing  from  the  Union.  Web- 
ster and  Clay,  alarmed  as  to  the  outcome,  introduced 
and  urged  compromise  measures.  The  compromise 
of  1850  was  the  result.  By  this  compromise,  among 
other  things,  California  was  admitted  as  a  free  state, 
and  slavery  in  the  remainder  of  the  Mexican  cession 
was  left  unsettled.     This  compromise  proved  to  be 


80  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

but  a  temporary  measure,  and  secured  merely  a  lull 
in  the  slavery  agitation. 

S.S.  282-283;  M.  339-343;  E. III.  165-178. 

II  The  Kansas-Nebraska  Act 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  which  was  part  of  the 
Compromise  of  1850,  was  being  energetically  made 
use  of  by  the  South,  and  this  served  to  create  a  more 
intense  feeling  against  slavery  in  the  North. 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  though  an  unjust  representa- 
tion of  the  slavery  system,  was  a  powerful  instru- 
ment in  intensifying  this  feeling. 

Under  these  conditions  the  Democrats  elected 
Pierce  to  the  Presidency,  and  secured  control  of  both 
houses  of  Congress.  The  leaders  of  both  parties  were 
anxious  to  let  the  slavery  question  rest,  but  Senator 
Douglas  introduced  a  bill,  known  as  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  which  provided  for  the  organization 
of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  into  territories,  and  which 
expressly  stated  that  the  question  of  slavery  should 
be  left  to  the  people  of  those  territories.  This  bill 
became  a  law,  and  as  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were 
both  north  of  36°  30',  it  repealed  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise of  1820.  Settlers  from  the  North  and  the 
South  at  once  rushed  into  Kansas,  and  that  territory 
became  the  scene  of  a  bloody  civil  strife. 

S.S.  289-292;  M.  346-352;  E.  III.  182-187. 

III  The  Deed  Scott  Decision 

Dred  Scott  was  a  slave  taken  by  his  master  from 
Missouri  into  a  free  state  and  into  a  free  territory  of 
the  North.  On  his  return  to  Missouri  he  sued  for  his 
freedom,  on  the  ground  that  slavery  could  not  exist 
in  a  free  state.     The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 


AMEKICAN   HISTORY  81 

States  held  that  a  slave  was  not  a  citizen,  but  property, 
and  therefore  had  no  rights  in  the  courts.  This 
meant  that  neither  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
nor  the  legislature  of  a  territory  could  prevent 
slavery  from  spreading  throughout  the  territory  of 
the  United  States.  This  decision  still  further  em- 
bittered the  North. 

S.S.  297;  M.  255-256;  E.  III.  197-199. 

IV    Election  of  Lincoln 

Lincoln's  position  on  the  slave  question  was  made 
plain  in  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debates.  He  then  de- 
clared that  he  was  emphatically  opposed  to  the 
extension  of  slavery,  and  that  the  nation  must  in 
time  become  all  slave  or  all  free.  The  majority  of 
the  people  of  the  North  agreed  with  him.  Upon  his 
election  to  the  Presidency,  the  South  recognized 
that  slavery  would  not  be  further  extended,  and  that 
they  would  forever  lose  control  of  the  national  gov- 
ernment. They  considered  it  necessary,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  institution  of  slavery,  to  withdraw  from 
the  Union,  and  this  withdrawal  marks  the  beginning 
of  the  Civil  War. 

S.S.  299-302;  M.  360-363;  E.  III.  204-212. 


LINCOLN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

The  Civil  War 

1.  Causes  of  the  Civil  War 

The  immediate  causes  of  the  Civil  War  were  the 
events  mentioned  above  in  connection  with  the 
previous  administrations.  The  remote  or  real 
causes  of  this  war  were  the  differences  in  the  to- 


82  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

pography  and  climate  of  the  South  and  the  Nortn, 
and  the  introduction  of  slavery  into  the  English 
colonies  of  North  America. 

The  large  navigable  rivers  of  the  South,  with 
wide,  fertile  plains  extending  on  either  side  of 
them,  favored  the  extensive  cultivation  of  a  few 
staple  products.  These  products  were  rice,  cotton, 
and  tobacco.  The  production  of  these  staples  did 
not  require  skilled  labor,  and  slave-labor  could 
be  used  with  profit  in  their  production.  The 
warm,  mild  climate  of  the  South  was  favorable 
to  the  negro,  and  reduced  the  cost  of  his  clothing 
and  his  shelter  to  a  minimum.  These  conditions 
in  the  South  made  slave-labor  profitable  and  the 
extension  of  the  system  very  important. 

In  the  Northern  States  the  conditions  were 
almost  reversed.  In  the  North  there  were  but 
few  broad  valleys,  the  soil  was  less  fertile,  and 
the  climate  was  severe.  The  topography,  the  soil, 
and  the  climate  did  not  favor  the  extensive  culti- 
vation of  those  staples  in  the  production  of  which 
slave-labor  could  be  used  with  profit.  The  in- 
dustries of  the  North  required  a  large  amount  of 
skilled  labor,  and  for  this  kind  of  labor  the  negro 
was  unfitted. 

At  first  slavery  existed  in  all  of  the  Northern 
Colonies,  but  it  was  gradually  abolished.  This 
was  largely  due  to  the  industrial  conditions, 
which  made  slave-labor  unprofitable.  In  the 
Southern  Colonies  the  slavery  system  was  ex- 
tended because  slave-labor  could  be  used  with 
profit  on  large  plantations.  This  was  especially 
true  after  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  and  im- 
proved weaving  machinery  had  increased  many 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  83 

times  the  production  of  cotton.  There  were,  per- 
haps, from  the  first  some  people  in  the  North  who 
opposed  slavery  because  they  thought  that  it  was 
morally  wrong,  and  this  number  gradually  in- 
creased. This  was  largely  due,  however,  to  the 
fact  that  the  Northern  people  were  not  accustomed 
to  slavery. 

From  the  time  the  North  abolished  slavery 
and  its  continuance  in  the  South  became  assured, 
the  two  sections  began  to  drift  rapidly  apart, 
especially  in  their  social  and  industrial  life. 
The  South  remained  to  the  close  of  the  Civil  War 
strictly  an  agricultural  country.  It  had  all  the 
necessary  resources  for  manufacturing,  but  as  her 
wealth  was  in  the  hands  of  large  slave-holders, 
and  the  slaves  could  not  be  used  with  profit  ex- 
cept on  the  plantations,  that  source  of  wealth 
was  left  undeveloped.  This  prevented  the  growth 
of  large  cities  and  repelled  immigration.  Labor 
was  considered  degrading,  and  hence  the  South 
did  not  possess  the  prosperous  middle  class.  So- 
ciety consisted  of  the  landed  aristocracy,  the 
slaves,  and  the  poor  whites.  Long  before  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  War,  Southern  society  rested 
firmly  on  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  to  destroy 
slavery  meant  in  a  certain  sense  the  destruction 
of  the  social  and  the  industrial  institutions  of  the 
South.  Therefore  the  statesmen  and  slave-owners 
of  the  South  would  not  for  a  moment  favorably 
consider  the  abolition  of  the  slavery  system. 

While  the  South  for  nearly  a  hundred  years 
remained  stationary  in  her  industrial  develop- 
ment and  society  was  becoming  firmly  molded 
around  the  institution  of  slavery,  the  North  and 


84  A   TOPICAL   DISCUSSION   OF 

West  were  making  gigantic  strides  in  their 
industrial  development.  Inventions,  which  in- 
creased many  fold  the  power  of  man,  were  being 
made  full  use  of  in  the  North,  while  in  the  South 
they  were  scarcely  used  at  all.  Men  of  wealth 
found  investment  for  their  money  in  the  North, 
and  manufacturing,  railroad-building,  and  other 
industries  rapidly  increased  in  importance.  Labor 
was  considered  honorable,  and  nearly  all  of  the 
foreign  immigrants  located  north  of  the  Mason 
and  Dixon  line. 

All  the  forces  referred  to  above  caused  the  North 
and  South  to  drift  wider  and  wider  apart,  both 
socially  and  industrially,  until  by  1860  they  had 
in  these  respects  become  two  different  peoples. 
There  was  a  strong  sentiment  in  the  North  that 
slavery  was  morally  wrong,  while  in  the  South  it 
was  considered  right  and  just.  Nearly  all  of  the 
Southern  churches  maintained  that  it  was  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Scriptures.  The  statesmen  of  the 
South  foresaw  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
when  the  slave  states  must  leave  the  Union,  or 
give  up  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  thus  wreck 
the  foundation  of  Southern  society.  They  chose 
to  fight,  rather  than  give  up  the  institution.  The 
people  of  the  North,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
would  probably  have  followed  a  similar  course. 
In  other  words,  there  were  forces  at  work  from 
early  colonial  times  which  made  the  Civil  War 
inevitable.  Neither  the  people  of  the  North  nor 
those  of  the  South  can  be  held  responsible  for  this 
war.  It  was  caused  by  forces  beyond  their  control. 
It  was  one  of  those  questions  in  advancing  civil- 
ization which  must  usually  be  settled  by  the 
sword. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  85 

2.  The  Comparative  Resources  of  the  North  and  the 
South 

a.  Available  Soldiers 

Of  the  thirty-one  million  of  residents  in  the 
United  States,  but  nine  millions  belonged  to 
the  seceding  area,  and  of  these  more  than  three 
million  five  hundred  thousand  were  slaves. 
All  told,  the  total  adult  male  population  of  the 
South  was  about  two  million  eight  hundred 
thousand.  "  The  North  was  to  call  more  than 
two  million  and  a  half  men  into  the  field  before 
the  war  ended."1  While,  numerically,  the 
North  was  far  superior  to  the  South,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Southern  people  were 
practically  united  to  a  man.  Such  was  far 
from  being  the  case  in  the  North.  A  very 
large  percentage  were  also  directing  all  of  their 
energies  toward  industrial  pursuits,  this  being 
a  time  of  great  industrial  growth  and  expansion. 

b.  Available  Leaders  and  Commanders 

Here,  if  anything,  the  Southern  people  had 
the  advantage  in  having  at  command  so  many 
men  of  military  training  and  great  military 
genius.  While  both  sections  had  graduated 
many  officers  from  the  government  military 
schools,  it  so  happened  that  the  Southern  men 
were  of  greater  ability. 

c.  Military  Supplies 

In  the  beginning  the  South  had  the  advan- 
tage in  this  direction  on  account  of  the  military 
supplies  which  had  been  stored  in  Southern 
1  E.  III.  244. 


86 


A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

arsenals  before  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  But 
as  the  North  tightened  the  blockade  and  pre- 
vented their  enemy  from  drawing  on  England 
for  further  war  material,  the  South  became 
seriously  handicapped  because  of  the  scarcity 
which  prevailed.  Not  until  the  outcome  of  the 
war  had  been  practically  decided  had  the 
necessary  factories  been  put  into  operation  for 
supplying  the  needs  of  the  Southern  armies. 
The  North,  being  a  manufacturing  country, 
with  factories  already  in  operation,  was  able  to 
provide  itself  with  the  war  material  which  its 
armies  required. 

d.  Financial  Resources 

"  In  its  extraordinary  straits  for  money  the 
government  of  the  Confederacy  had  resort  to 
every  expedient  known  to  finance,  even  the 
most  desperate."1  An  immense  amount  of 
paper  money  was  issued,  only  to  depreciate  in 
value  until  it  became  almost  worthless.  In 
the  North,  on  account  of  a  much  stronger  credit, 
the  government  was  able  to  float  immense 
quantities  of  bonds  and  to  issue  paper  money 
without  its  depreciation  to  any  very  great 
extent  as  compared  with  the  currency  of  the 
Confederacy.  On  account  of  the  industrial 
activity  of  the  North  the  Union  was  able  to 
raise  very  large  sums  of  money  from  taxation, 
—  an  expedient  which  the  South  was  almost 
entirely  deprived  of  when  the  blockade  closed 
the  only  outlet  for  its  agricultural  products. 


1  E.  III.  247. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  87 

e.  Facilities  for  Transportation 

Before  and  during  the  war  a  vast  network 
of  railroads  was  being  woven  between  the 
different  states  of  the  North.  When  the  crisis 
came  the  Union  was  able  to  transport  soldiers 
and  military  supplies  from  one  point  to  another 
with  comparatively  little  delay.  In  the  South, 
on  the  other  hand,  railroads  were  compara- 
tively few  and  poorly  equipped,  nor  had  they 
the  iron  needed  for  replacing  worn-out  rails,  or 
the  workmen  who  should  have  been  ready  to 
repair  and  keep  the  different  lines  in  good 
working  order.  There  was  no  lack  of  agricul- 
tural products,  "but  the  means  of  distributing 
what  the  fields  produced,  of  bringing  it  within 
reach  of  the  armies,  and  of  others  who  were 
almost  starving,  were  wretchedly  inadequate." * 
M.  383;  E.  III.  220-221,  232-233,  239,  244-248. 

3.  Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  the  national 
government  determined  to  enforce  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  in  the  South,  and  prevent  the  seced- 
ing states  from  leaving  the  Union.  In  order  to 
accomplish  these  purposes,  it  was  decided  to 
blockade  the  South,  capture  Richmond,  open  up 
the  Mississippi,  and  cut  the  Confederacy  into  two 
sections.  In  a  short  time  three  great  armies  were 
organized, — the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  and  the  Army  of  the  Tennes- 
see. The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  to  defend 
Washington  and  capture  Richmond.     The  armies 

1  E.  III.  248. 


88  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

of   the  Cumberland  and   the   Tennessee  were   to 
operate  in  the  West  and  open  up  the  Mississippi. 

a.  Operations  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  down 
to  the  Time  when  Grant  was  Placed  in  Com- 
mand of  all  the  Armies  of  the  United  States 
After  the  disastrous  battle  of  Bull  Run,  the 
troops  around  Washington  were  placed  under 
the  command  of  McClellan,  and  called  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  proposed  work  of 
this  army  was  to  capture  Richmond.  Two 
plans  were  proposed  for  reaching  Richmond. 
The  authorities  at  Washington  thought  that 
the  better  way  was  for  the  army  to  proceed 
directly  South.  McClellan  objected  to  this,  on 
account  of  the  many  rivers  in  the  path,  besides 
which  strong  fortifications  had  been  erected  by 
the  Confederates.  He  advised  that  soldiers  be 
landed  from  transports  at  Yorktown,  Virginia, 
and  from  there  proceed  against  Richmond. 
McClellan's  plan  prevailed,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1862,  with  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand 
men,  he  was  transferred  to  the  vicinity  of 
Yorktown.  After  several  months  of  hard  fight- 
ing the  campaign  ended  in  failure. 
S.S.  309-310;  M.  392-393;  E.  III.  224-225. 

In  August,  1862,  McClellan  was  ordered 
back  to  defend  Washington.  A  month  later, 
the  armies  of  Lee  and  McClellan  met  at  Sharps- 
burg,  or  Antietam,  in  western  Maryland.  Here 
a  great  battle  was  fought,  with  the  result  that 
Lee  was  compelled  to  retreat  across  the  Poto- 
mac  and   for   the  time  abandon  his  idea  of 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  Q\) 

invading  the  North.  As  McClellan  did  not 
follow  Lee  with  sufficient  energy  to  meet  the 
approval  of  the  authorities  at  Washington,  he 
was  removed  and  Burnside  was  placed  in  com- 
mand. In  December,  1862,  Burnside  was  de- 
feated at  Fredericksburg,  and  his  command 
was  given  to  General  Hooker.  In  the  spring 
of  18G3,  Hooker  crossed  the  Rapidan,  only  to 
meet  with  a  terrible  defeat  at  the  hands  of 
Lee's  army.  In  this  battle  Stonewall  Jackson, 
one  of  Lee's  ablest  generals,  was  accidentally 
killed  by  his  own  men.  Encouraged  by  his 
victory  over  Hooker,  Lee  again  attempted  to 
invade  the  North.  Amid  great  excitement 
throughout  the  North,  Hooker  was  removed, 
and  General  George  A.  Meade  given  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  two  armies 
met  at  Gettysburg,  a  village  in  southeastern 
Pennsylvania.  Here,  on  the  first,  second,  and 
third  days  of  July,  1863,  was  fought  one  of  the 
greatest  battles  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Lee's  army  was  defeated,  and  he  never  again 
attempted  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
country.  Meade  did  not  pursue  Lee's  shat- 
tered forces.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  fought 
no  other  great  battles  until  after  Grant  assumed 
command  of  all  of  the  armies  of  the  United 
States,  in  March,  1864. 

S.S.  311,  313;   M.  394,  396;  E.  III.  224-226, 
230. 

b.  The  Work  of  Grant  in  the  Civil  War 

In  the  early  part  of  1862,  Grant  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  Union  force  at  Cairo,  Illi- 


90  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

nois.  His  first  important  work  was  the  capture 
of  Fort  Donaldson,  on  the  Cumberland  River. 
After  three  days  of  righting,  Buckner,  as  com- 
mander of  the  Confederate  forces,  asked  Grant 
what  terms  would  be  granted  him  if  he  should 
surrender  the  fort  together  with  his  force  of 
fifteen  thousand  men.  Grant  replied,  "  No 
terms,  except  unconditional  and  immediate 
surrender,  can  be  accepted."  Buckner  sur- 
rendered under  the  terms  mentioned,  and  thus 
Grant  won  the  first  great  Union  victory. 

Grant  now  moved  up  the  Tennessee  and 
fought  the  Battle  of  Shiloh  or  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing. Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  in  command  of 
the  Confederate  army,  was  killed  and  his  army 
forced  to  retreat.  Grant's  next  important 
work  was  the  siege  and  capture  of  Vicksburg. 
Vicksburg  was  a  well-fortified  city  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, defended  by  thirty-seven  thousand  sol- 
diers under  the  command  of  Pemberton.  After 
a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  the  city  was  compelled 
to  surrender  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1863, 
just  one  day  after  the  defeat  of  Lee  at  Gettys- 
burg. Port  Hudson  surrendered  five  days 
later,  and  the  Federal  government  had  secured 
control  of  the  Mississippi  from  Minnesota  to 
the  Gulf.  These  events  were  the  beginning  of 
the  end,  and  the  cause  of  the  South  from  this 
time  onward  steadily  declined. 

Grant  next  turned  his  attention  to  Chatta- 
nooga, at  which  place  Bragg  had  defeated  Rose- 
crans  and  laid  siege  to  the  Union  army.  Under 
the  direction  of  Grant,  the  two  brilliant  battles 
of   Lookout   Mountain  and   Missionary  Ridge 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  91 

were  fought.  The  Confederates  under  Bragg 
and  their  army  were  driven  southward  toward 
Atlanta. 

In  March,  1864,  Grant  was  made  commander- 
in-chief  of  all  the  Union  forces.  He  gave  his 
personal  attention  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
but  directed  the  movements  of  all  of  the  Fed- 
eral troops.  Sherman  was  placed  in  com- 
mand at  Chattanooga.  He  moved  South, 
captured  Atlanta,  and  then  made  his  famous 
march  to  the  sea.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1864, 
Grant  took  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  consisting  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men.  He  moved  his  army 
southward,  crossed  the  Rappahannock  and 
entered  the  Wilderness.  Here  he  met  Lee's 
army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  and  a  terrible 
struggle  ensued.  In  one  month  Grant  lost 
sixty-four  thousand  soldiers,  but  he  forced  Lee 
to  retreat  and  take  up  his  position  within  the 
fortifications  of  Richmond.  Grant  laid  siege 
to  the  city.  Sherman's  march  through  the 
South  and  Sheridan's  raids  with  his  cavalry 
had  cut  off  a  large  part  of  Lee's  provisions. 
Lee  evacuated  Richmond  and  attempted  to 
escape,  but  Grant  surrounded  his  army  and 
forced  a  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court  House, 
a  little  place  about  seventy-five  miles  west  of 
Richmond,  April  9,  1865.  The  surrender  of 
the  other  Confederate  armies  soon  followed, 
and  the  Civil  War  was  over. 
S.S.  313-314,  316,  321-322,  324-325,  328-333; 

M.  388-392,  397-399,  402-406;  E. III.  223- 

224, 230-232,  234,  237-238,  252. 


92 


A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

c.  The  Work  of  the  Navy  in  the  Civil  War 
(1)  Blockade  of  the  Southern  Ports 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  national 
government,  in  order  to  cripple  the  Con- 
federacy as  much  as  possible,  decided  upon 
a  complete  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports. 
Until  this  blockade  was  effected,  the  South 
could  export  cotton,  sugar,  and  tobacco, 
and  import  arms  and  other  military  sup- 
plies. To  accomplish  this  blockade,  the 
national  government  had  at  first  about 
twenty-four  vessels,  but  it  built  and 
equipped  a  navy  with  marvelous  rapidity, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  year  1861,  had 
the  blockade  fairly  effective.  There  were 
more  than  three  thousand  miles  of  coast 
for  the  Union  vessels  to  watch,  however, 
and  many  vessels,  known  as  blockade- 
runners,  would  slip  past  the  Union  vessels 
in  the  night  and  succeed  in  bringing  sup- 
plies to  the  Confederates.  During  the 
war,  more  than  fifteen  hundred  of  these 
blockade-runners  were  taken  or  destroyed 
by  the  Union  fleet. 
S.S.  317;  M.  410-412;  E.  III.  229-230. 

(2)   Commerce-Destroyers 

While  the  North  was  busy  in  perfecting 
a  blockade  of  the  Southern  coast,  the  Con- 
federates were  fitting  out  vessels  called 
Commerce-Destroyers.  It  was  the  business 
of  these  vessels  to  watch  the  great  high- 
ways of  commerce  and  to  destroy  as  many 
Union  merchant  ships  as  possible.  The  most 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  93 

famous  vessels  of  this  kind  were  the  Florida, 
the  Alabama,  and  the  Shenandoah,  all  of 
which  were  fitted  out  in  England.  They 
did  an  immense  amount  of  damage  to  the 
commerce  of  the  North  during  the  war.  In 
1872,  a  board  of  arbitration,  to  which  the 
case  had  been  submitted,  decided  that 
England  should  pay  to  the  United  States 
the  sum  of  fifteen  million  dollars  on 
account  of  the  injury  done  to  American 
commerce  during  the  war  by  Confederate 
"Commerce- Destroyers"  which  had  been 
fitted  out  in  English  ports.  This  settle- 
ment is  known  as  the  "  Geneva  Award." 
S.S.  345;  M.  412-414;  E.  III.  229-230. 

(3)   The  Revolution  in  Naval  Warfare 

In  the  early  part  of  1862  the  Confed- 
erates raised  a  vessel  which  had  been  sunk 
in  the  navy-yard  at  Norfolk,  Virginia. 
They  covered  it  with  a  double  plating  of 
iron,  and  christened  it  the  Virginia.  This 
was  the  first  ironclad  warship  ever  con- 
structed. With  this  vessel  the  Confederates 
destroyed  several  of  the  larger  Union  war- 
vessels  at  that  time  lying  in  Hampton 
Roads,  Virginia.  Before  it  had  completed 
the  work  of  destruction  at  that  port,  the 
Monitor,  an  ironclad  vessel  built  in  New 
York  by  John  Ericsson,  arrived  on  the 
scene.  A  battle  took  place  between  the 
two  vessels  which  was  to  be  the  most  im- 
portant single  event  of  the  war,  proving  as 
it  did  that  a  few  ironclad   vessels  could 


94  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

destroy  the  largest  wooden  navy  afloat. 
A  complete  revolution  in  naval  construc- 
tion now  took  place,  and  the  great  wooden 
war-vessels  of  the  world  were  rapidly 
supplanted  by  iron-protected  fighting- 
machines. 
S.S.  318-319;  M.  414-417;  E.  III.  229. 

4.  Results  of  the  Civil  War 

The  main  results  of  the  Civil  War  were  the 
destruction  of  slavery,  the  great  industrial  develop- 
ment of  the  South,  which  the  destruction  of  slavery 
made  possible,  the  enfranchisement  of  the  negro, 
and  the  race  problem  which  this  enfranchisement 
created  and  which  has  not  yet  been  settled. 

Since  the  War  the  industrial  development  of 
the  South  has  been  extremely  rapid.  Iron  and 
coal  fields  second  to  none  in  the  world  have 
been  discovered.  The  production  of  cotton  has 
vastly  increased.  Manufacturing  establishments 
of  every  kind  have  been  springing  into  existence. 
Many  large  manufacturing  establishments  are 
moving  their  machinery  from  New  England  into 
the  South. 

The  social  and  the  political  status  of  the  negro 
in  the  South  is  a  difficult  question  to  solve,  and 
its  final  solution  belongs  to  the  future. 

Another  important  result  of  the  War  has  been 
the  unification  of  the  nation.  Sectional  feeling 
has  almost  vanished  because  slavery,  its  cause, 
has  been  removed.  During  the  Spanish- American 
war,  ex-Confederate  soldiers  fought  side  by  side 
with  Federal  soldiers  who  had  been  their  old 
opponents  in  the  Civil  War. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  95 

Other  results  of  the  war  were  the  destruction 
of  more  than  six  billion  dollars'  worth  of  property 
and  the  loss  of  about  seven  hundred  thousand  of 
the  best  men  of  the  nation,  the  South  losing  al- 
most as  many  of  these  as  the  North. 


THE    POLITICAL    HISTORY    OF    THE    UNITED 
STATES   FROM   1865   TO   1900 

In  order  to  secure  a  general  view  of  this  period  read 
carefully  the  references  given  below  (see  note  page  18): 
S.S.  337-366;  M.  425-432;  437-451,  462-476;  E.  III. 
254-299. 

I       Reconstruction  of  the  Seceding  States 

After  the  Civil  War  had  ended  it  became  neces- 
sary to  reorganize  the  state  governments  in  the 
South,  and  to  decide  on  some  method  by  which  the 
Southern  States  could  again  send  Senators  and 
Representatives  to  the  national  Congress.  During 
the  summer  of  1865,  while  Congress  was  not  in 
session,  the  Southern  people,  under  the  direction  of 
Johnson,  reorganized  their  state  governments  and 
elected  members  to  both  branches  of  Congress.  Most 
of  the  newly  organized  legislatures  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  pass  laws  which  practically  re-enslaved 
the  negroes. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  1865,  it  repudi- 
ated all  these  acts,  and  proceeded  to  reconstruct  the 
Southern  States  according  to  its  own  ideas.  It 
passed,  over  the  President's  vetoes,  a  number  of  laws 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  to  the  negro  civil  rights, 
and  placed  soldiers  in  the  Southern  States  to  see  to 


96  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

it  that  these  laws  were  enforced.  All  of  the  soldiers 
were  not  withdrawn  until  1877.  Before  the  seceding 
states  regained  all  of  the  rights  which  they  had  lost 
by  secession  Congress  compelled  them  to  ratify 
three  amendments  to  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  The  Thirteenth  Amendment  made  the  negro 
free,  the  Fourteenth  made  him  a  citizen,  and  the 
Fifteenth  gave  him  the  right  to  vote. 

S.S.  337-342;  M.  425-431;  E. III.  254-271. 

II  Scandals  in  the    Departments   of   the  National 

Government 

Under  Grant's  administration,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States,  officials  in 
both  the  legislative  and  the  executive  departments 
were  found  guilty  of  fraud  in  the  performance  of 
official  duties.  Members  of  Congress  sold  their  votes 
to  corporations.  This  is  known  as  the  "  Credit  Mobi- 
lier"  affair.  The  Secretary  of  War,  W.  W.  Belknap, 
was  impeached  for  accepting  bribes,  but  escaped  con- 
viction by  resigning. 

S.S.  348;  E.  III.  277-280. 

III  Civil  Service  Reform 

Andrew  Jackson  introduced  the  Spoils  System 
into  American  politics.  Since  1871,  attempts  have 
been  made  to  overcome  the  evil  results  of  the  system. 
In  the  spring  of  that  year  Congress  passed  what  it 
termed  a  Civil  Service  Reform  Act.  This  law  gave 
to  the  President  the  power  of  selecting  a  commission 
which  should  devise  a  better  plan  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  men  to  all  offices  under  his  control.  Grant 
was  anxious  to  enforce  this  law  and  better  the  civil 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  97 

service,  but  the  members  of  Congress,  desiring  the 
offices  for  political  purposes,  refused  to  vote  money 
to  carry  out  the  reform.  As  a  result,  it  proved  of 
little  value. 

In  1883,  Congress  passed  what  is  known  as  the 
"  Pendleton  Civil  Service  Act."  This  law  gave  the 
President  the  power  of  making  appointments  to 
office  by  means  of  examination,  and  officers  thus 
appointed  could  not  be  removed  so  long  as  they  did 
their  work  well.  President  Arthur  placed  a  large 
number  of  offices  under  this  civil  service  regulation, 
and  President  Cleveland  increased  the  number. 
Many  of  the  best  statesmen  of  the  United  States 
hope  that  this  law  marks  the  beginning  of  the  down- 
fall of  the  Spoils  System. 

S.S.  361;  E.  III.  277,  293-294. 

IV   The  Treaty  of  Washington 

The  Treaty  of  Washington  provided  for  the  set- 
tlement by  arbitration  of  the  questions  in  dispute 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
These  questions  were:  The  disputed  boundary  line 
between  British  Columbia  and  the  state  of  Wash- 
ington, the  rights  of  American  fishermen  in  Cana- 
dian waters,  and  the  destruction  of  American  com- 
merce during  the  Civil  War  by  vessels  fitted  out  in 
British  ports.  This  last-mentioned  is  known  as  the 
"Alabama  Claims."  This  treaty  is  important,  be- 
cause it  is  the  first  notable  example  of  the  voluntary 
arbitration  by  two  great  nations  of  questions  in  dis- 
pute. 

S.S.  344-345;  E.  III.  278-279. 


98  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

V      Financial  Legislation 

1.  National  Bank  System 

During  the  Civil  War  the  national  bank  sys- 
tem of  the  United  States  was  established.  This 
system  is  entirely  different  from  the  United  States 
Bank  destroyed  by  Jackson.  It  was  established 
for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  market  for  the  sale 
of  United  States  bonds,  in  order  that  money  might 
be  secured  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  law  which 
established  this  system  provides  that  not  less  than 
five  persons,  with  a  combined  capital  of  not  less 
than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  may  estab- 
lish a  national  bank.  They  must  invest  a  sum 
amounting  to  at  least  one  third  of  their  capital 
in  United  States  bonds,  and  the  government  will 
then  give  them  bank  notes  not  exceeding  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  par  value  of  these  bonds.  The 
national  bank  system  is  now  an  important  feature 
of  the  financial  system  of  the  United  States. 
S.S.  335;  M.  421;  E.  III.  232-233. 

2.  Resumption  of  Specie  Payments 

In  order  to  secure  money  during  the  Civil  War 
nearly  five  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of 
paper  money  was  issued  by  the  national  govern- 
ment. This  paper  money  was  made  a  legal  cur- 
rency for  all  kinds  of  business,  but  no  one  could 
require  the  government  to  exchange  gold  or  silver 
for  it.  In  1864,  Congress  passed  a  law  which 
provided  that  the  Treasury  Department  should 
pay  out  gold  and  silver  in  return  for  paper  money, 
and  all  of  the  paper  money  thus  secured  was  to 
be  destroyed,  the  object  being  to  bring  the  finances 
of  the  country  back  to  a  gold  and  silver  basis. 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  99 

This  redeeming  of  paper  money  with  gold  and 
silver  is  known  as  the  Resumption  of  Specie  Pay- 
ment. 

The  amount  of  paper  money  in  circulation  was 
reduced  from  four  hundred  and  forty-nine  million 
dollars  in  1864  to  three  hundred  and  fifty-six 
million  dollars  in  1868,  when  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments  was  discontinued.  In  1879  specie 
payments  were  resumed  and  have  continued  down 
to  the  present  time. 
S.S.  355;  M.  437-438,  445;  E.  III.  280-281. 

3.  Gold  and  Silver  Standards 

Standard  money  must  be  good  in  payment  for 
all  debts,  and  the  material  out  of  which  this 
money  is  made  must  be  coined  by  the  United 
States  mints  practically  free  of  charge  for  any  one 
who  takes  the  material  to  the  mint  and  complies 
with  the  regulations. 

Until  1873  both  gold  and  silver  were  standard 
moneys  in  the  United  States,  —  that  is,  any  one 
possessing  either  gold  or  silver  metal  could  have 
it  coined  into  money.  In  1873  the  coinage  of 
silver  as  a  standard  circulating  medium  was 
partially  discontinued,  and  in  1876  the  coinage 
of  silver  as  a  standard  money  was  abolished.  In 
1878  it  was  again  made  a  standard  money,  but 
the  amount  which  the  government  could  coin 
during  each  year  was  limited.  The  law  pro- 
viding for  this  is  called  the  Bland  Silver  Bill.  In 
1890,  Congress  passed  what  is  known  as  the 
Sherman  Act.  This  law  directed  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  buy  about  fifteen  million 
dollars'  worth  of  silver  each  year.     After  1891  it 


100  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

was  provided  that  the  silver  bought  need  not  be 
coined,  but  silver  certificates  for  four  million  five 
hundred  thousand  ounces  of  silver  must  be  issued 
each  month  and  these  must  be  redeemed  in  gold 
and  silver.  In  order  to  protect  the  gold  reserve 
in  the  United  States  treasury,  the  Sherman  Act 
was  repealed  in  Cleveland's  second  administra- 
tion. In  the  spring  of  1900,  Congress  passed  a 
law  which  declared,  in  substance,  that  the  gold 
standard  would  be  maintained  in  the  United 
States. 
S.S.  354;  M.  448-449,  467,  472;  E.  III.  291-292. 

VI    Tariff  Legislation 

Tariff,  as  used  in  national  legislation,  is  a  tax 
levied  on  goods  brought  into  the  United  States  from 
another  country.  One  of  the  main  objects  of  a  tariff 
is  to  obtain  the  money  required  for  meeting  the  ex- 
penses of  government  and  the  payment  of  the 
national  debt.  Another  object  is  to  protect  home 
industries. 

The  Republican  party  believes  that  tariff  duties 
should  be  so  levied  as  to  protect  the  manufacturing 
and  agricultural  interests  of  the  country.  This 
means  that  all  goods  which  can  be  produced  in  the 
United  States  should  be  required  to  pay  an  import 
duty  so  as  to  secure  a  better  market  for  home  pro- 
ducts, and  thus  to  increase  home  production.  The 
Democratic  party  believes  that  the  tariff  should  be 
placed  almost  exclusively  on  such  articles  as  are 
used  by  the  wealthier  classes,  and  that  American 
industries  should  be  compelled  to  compete  with  for- 
eign industries  without  the  assistance  of  tariff  duties. 

The  ideas  of  the   Republicans   in   regard   to  the 


AMERICAN    HISTORY:         /,    t       ',',-,>,  101, 

tariff  have  prevailed  since  1860,  except  during  Cleve- 
land's second  administration.  The  Wilson  Bill, 
passed  during  that  administration,  modified  the 
tariff  in  many  respects,  though  it  retained  a  large 
number  of  protective  features.  During  the  McKin- 
ley  administration  the  protective  tariff  was  restored. 
As  the  Southern  States  are  rapidly  becoming  manu- 
facturing states,  it  is  quite  probable  that  both  parties 
will  hereafter  support  the  protective  system. 
S.S.  380;  M.  419-420,  466,  473,  476. 

VII  Industrial  Legislation 

The  great  industrial  development  of  the  United 
States  since  1865  has  called  forth  special  legis- 
lation concerning  industrial  matters.  Among  the 
important  laws  passed  by  the  national  govern- 
ment are  the  laws  regulating  commerce  between 
the  states,  known  as  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act;  the  Contract  Labor  Law,  which  prevents  any 
person  in  the  United  States  from  importing  labor- 
ers under  contract;  the  law  restricting  Chinese 
immigration;  a  number  of  laws  to  prevent  the 
adulteration  of  foods;  and  a  law  which  makes 
eight  hours  a  full  day's  work  in  certain  kinds  of 
government  employment.  Many  states  have  also 
passed  laws  regulating  railway  fares,  restricting 
the  powers  and  defining  the  duties  of  corporations, 
and  other  laws  having  for  their  object  the  welfare 
of  the  laboring  classes  and  the  regulation  of  trusts. 

M.  464-465. 

VIII  Cleveland  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine 

Great  Britain  and  Venezuela  could  not  agree 
upon   the   boundary   between   their    territory  in 


1Q2  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

South  America,  and  the  United  States  asked  Great 
Britain  to  arbitrate  the  question  in  accordance 
with  the  Monroe  doctrine.  Great  Britain  claimed 
that  the  world  had  outgrown  that  doctrine.  On 
receiving  through  the  British  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington a  note  from  the  British  government  con- 
taining these  views,  Cleveland  at  once  obtained 
permission  from  Congress  to  appoint  a  commission 
whose  duty  it  should  be  to  determine  the  boundary 
in  dispute.  In  a  proclamation  to  Congress  he 
stated  that  when  the  line  had  once  been  determined 
by  the  commission,  the  United  States  should  fight 
if  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  it.  England 
then  consented  to  have  the  matter  submitted  to 
arbitration.  The  firm  stand  of  Cleveland  served 
as  a  notice  to  the  world  that  the  United  States 
would  strictly  enforce  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
M.  474. 

IX    The  Spanish- American  War 

1.  Causes 

The  remote  cause  of  this  war  was  Spanish  mis- 
government  of  her  West  Indian  possessions.  The 
immediate  cause  was  the  destruction  of  the  Ameri- 
can battle-ship  Maine,  in  the  harbor  of  Havana, 
with  the  loss  of  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
sailors.  It  has  not  been  proven  whether  the 
destruction  of  this  vessel  was  accidental  or  not, 
but  the  important  fact  is  that  the  feeling  which 
its  destruction  created  in  the  United  States  led 
directly  to  war. 

2.  Campaigns 

The   war  was    decided  in  favor  of  the  United 


AMERICAN   HISTORY  103 

States  by  the  American  navy.  Two  naval  battles 
were  fought,  —  one  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and 
one  off  the  southern  coast  of  Cuba.  In  these  two 
battles  the  Spanish  navy  was  practically  destroyed, 
without  the  loss  to  the  American  forces  of  a  single 
ship,  and  with  the  loss  of  but  one  man.  These  two 
battles  showed  the  Americans  to  have  lost  none  of 
their  ability  as  sea  fighters  since  the  War  of  1812. 
With  her  navy  destroyed,  Spain  could  not  hope  to 
make  any  effective  resistance  on  the  land,  either 
in  the  Philippines  or  in  the  West  Indies.  The  war 
ended  after  some  severe  fighting  on  the  island  of 
Cuba  around  the  city  of  Santiago. 

3.  Results 

The  war  itself  was  of  little  importance,  but  its 
results  may  be  of  vast  importance  to  the  United 
States.  The  territorial  result  was  the  acquisition 
by  the  United  States  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
the  Spanish  West  India  Islands,  and  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  The  Hawaiian  Islands  would  very  likely 
have  been  acquired  in  any  event,  but  the  war 
hastened  their  annexation.  These  new  posses- 
sions may  vitally  affect  the  future  policy  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  this  way  the  war  may  have 
far-reaching  results.  If  these  possessions  are 
treated  as  colonies,  the  United  States  may  be  com- 
pelled to  mix  in  Asiatic  and  European  affairs,  thus 
abandoning  the  principle  of  neutrality  established 
by  Washington,  to  which  the  United  States  has 
strictly  adhered.  Previous  to  the  acquisition  of  this 
territory  all  of  the  country  acquired  by  the  United 
States  had  been  practically  uninhabited,  leaving 
for  the  American  people  the  development  of  its 


104  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION   OF 

resources  and  its  preparation  for  becoming  an 
integral  part  of  the  Union.  Most  of  the  territory 
acquired  from  Spain  during  the  recent  war  is 
thickly  populated,  and  if  it  be  held  as  colonial 
possessions,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  be  not  permitted  to  extend  over  it,  a  new 
principle  will  have  entered  into  the  American 
government. 

These  questions  belong  to  the  future,  but  their 
solution  will  make  up  some  of  the  most  important 
work  of  American  statesmen. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SINCE 

1865 

The  progress  of  the  United  States  since  the  Civil  Wai 
in  1865  has  not  been  equaled  by  that  of  any  other  period 
of  the  world's  history.  This  is  especially  true  in  all  lines 
of  industrial  and  educational  development. 

I        The  Development  of  the  New  West 

The  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  mines  in  Cali- 
fornia and  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  caused  a  great 
stream  of  emigration  to  start  westward.  At  first 
the  covered  wagon  was  the  principal  means  of 
transportation.  This  was  followed  by  the  overland 
stage-coach,  and  finally  by  the  Union  Pacific  and 
other  railroads.  There  are  now  six  transconti- 
nental railroad  lines,  which,  together  with  their 
branches,  penetrate  into  every  section  of  the  West. 
This  has  had  more  influence  on  the  development  of 
the  West  than  any  other  single  factor.  In  truth, 
the  present   development  would  have  been  impos- 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  105 

sible  without  their  assistance.  The  government 
has  done  much  to  encourage  the  building  of  rail- 
roads. For  this  purpose  it  has  given  to  railroad 
companies  more  than  two  hundred  million  acres  of 
land  and  sixty  millions  of  dollars. 

S.S.  346;  M.  433-436;  E.  III.  221. 

II  The  New  South 

The  abolition  of  slavery  produced  a  revolution 
in  the  labor  system  of  the  South.  Before  the 
War  slavery  had  been  the  corner-stone  of  Southern 
society.  With  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  this 
society  passed  away,  and  on  its  ruins  arose  the 
"  New  South,"  having  free  labor  as  its  foundation. 
The  South  has  gained  greatly  by  this  change.  The 
production  of  cotton  has  doubled  since  1860.  At 
that  time  the  capital  invested  in  Southern  manu- 
facturing industries  was  so  small  as  to  scarcely 
require  mentioning.  There  is  now  invested  in 
machine-shops,  mills,  and  workshops  more  than 
fifty  million  dollars  of  capital.  Thousands  of  miles 
of  railroads  have  been  built.  Atlanta,  Chattanooga, 
New  Orleans,  Augusta,  Birmingham,  and  other 
Southern  cities  now  have  manufacturing  establish- 
ments which  rival  those  of  the  North  and  those  of 
the  West. 

S.S.  358;  M.  454;  E.  III.  298. 

III  The  Progress  of  Manufactures 

In  1860  the  manufactured  products  of  the  United 
States  were  valued  at  four  billions  of  dollars.  The 
estimated  annual  value  of  the  present  output  from 
its  factories  is  ten  billions  of  dollars,  being  greater 
than  that  of   any  other  country  in  the  world.     In 


106  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

1860,  England  led  the  world  in  the  manufacture  of 
iron  and  steel.  Now  the  United  States  is  far  in 
advance  of  that  country.  This  is  but  a  single  illus- 
tration of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  United  States.  Nearly  all  of  her 
large  cities  are  hives  of  industrial  enterprise,  and 
the  products  of  her  factories  are  carried  to  the 
markets  of  every  country  in  the  world. 
S.S.  365;  M.  459-461. 

IV  Practical  Application  of  Electricity 

Within  recent  years  a  new  force  had  been  ap- 
plied to  the  uses  of  man.  The  first  practical  appli- 
cation of  electricity  was  in  the  field  of  telegraphy. 
Now  its  uses  are  almost  unlimited.  Nearly  every 
form  of  machinery  may  be  run  by  its  energy. 
Cities  are  lighted,  street-cars  are  moved,  search- 
lights are  operated,  metals  are  welded,  and  hun- 
dreds of  other  useful  things  are  done  by  this  mar- 
velous power,  —  electricity. 

S.S.  269;  M.  459;  E.  III.  162. 

V  Corporations  and  Trusts 

A  corporation  is  an  organization  recognized  by 
law,  and  empowered  to  transact  a  certain  kind  of 
business,  as  though  it  were  one  person.  The  won- 
derful industrial  progress  of  the  United  States  has 
made  it  possible  for  men  to  amass  large  fortunes. 
These  fortunes,  singly  or  in  combinations,  have 
been  used  for  the  purpose  of  building  long  railroad 
lines,  developing  large  mining  interests,  and  under- 
taking other  enterprises.  They  have  often  taken 
advantage  of  the  great  power  which  they  possess  in 
order  to  crush  out  smaller  enterprises  having  less 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  107 

financial  backing.     A  vast  corporation  often  takes 
the  place  of  countless  individual  business  concerns. 
For  example,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany  was  organized  in  1886  out   of   forty   small 
telegraph  companies.     Many  lines  of  railroads  have 
been  combined  into  a  few  trunk  lines.     The  Stan- 
dard Oil  Company  has  taken  the  place  of  any  num- 
ber of  smaller  oil  companies.     When  great  corpora- 
tions were  first  organized  they  were  brought  into 
sharp  competition  with  other  business  firms,  and 
prices  were  kept  at  a  low  mark.     The  people  re- 
ceived the  benefit  of   this   competition.     The  cor- 
porations soon  learned  that  it  was  to  their  advan- 
tage to  form  combinations,  thus  avoiding  competi- 
tion with  each  other.     Vast  combines   and  trusts 
have  now  been  formed  in  almost  every  line  of  busi- 
ness.    With  their  immense  wealth  and  aggressive 
methods  they  constitute  one  of  the  great  dangers 
of  the  country.     No  law  has  yet  been  devised  which 
can  control  powerful  combinations  of  capital.     The 
solution  of  this  question  is  one  of  the  great  prob- 
lems of  the  future. 

M.  459-461;  E.  III.  290. 

VI     Labor  Unions 

In  order  to  protect  themselves  against  the  com- 
binations of  capital  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
discussion  the  laboring  people  of  the  country  have 
combined  at  different  times  and  under  various 
names.  The  most  famous  of  these  organizations  is 
the  "  Noble  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,"  founded 
in  1869.  These  labor  organizations  exist  in  almost 
every  locality  where  large  numbers  of  laborers  are 
employed.     Most  of  them  have  combined  into  one 


108  A   TOPICAL    DISCUSSION    OF 

union,  known  as  the  "  Federation  of  Labor  Unions." 
By  their  combined  efforts  they  have  shortened  the 
hours  of  labor,  raised  wages,  secured  the  passage  of 
laws  restricting  foreign  immigration,  stopped  the 
importation  of  foreign  contract  labor,  and  accom- 
plished many  other  things,  which,  taken  together, 
have  raised  the  condition  of  the  American  laborer 
above  that  of  any  other  in  the  world. 
M.  460-461. 

VII      Education 

1.  The  Common- School  System 

In  the  constitutions  of  nearly  all  the  states 
of  the  American  Union  ample  provision  is 
made  for  the  maintenance  of  free  public  schools. 
Although  each  state  has  its  own  system,  and 
there  is  wide  difference  as  to  length  of  school 
terms,  qualifications  and  salaries  of  teachers, 
courses  of  study,  and  similar  matters,  there 
are  many  forces  at  work  which  are  tending  to 
make  the  schools  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States.  Some  of  these  forces  are,  —  The 
National  Bureau  of  Education,  The  National 
Educational  Association,  and  the  various  edu- 
cational journals.  Nearly  all  the  states  at  the 
time  of  their  organization  set  aside  certain 
lands  in  each  township  for  the  support  of  pub- 
lic schools.  In  most  cases  these  lands  have 
been  sold  and  the  money  obtained  therefrom 
constitutes  a  school  fund,  the  interest  of  which 
is  used  for  school  purposes.  Whatever  addi- 
tional money  is  needed  is  obtained  by  direct 
taxation.  Prior  to  1860  the  Northern  States 
were  far  in  advance  of  those  of  the  South  in  all 


AMERICAN    HISTORY  109 

lines  of  educational  work.     Before  1870,  every 
Southern  state  except  Delaware  had  made  con- 
stitutional provision  for  a  free  school  system. 
S.S.  368-369,  372. 

2.  High  Schools 

Since  their  establishment  in  1821,  high 
schools  have  been  steadily  growing  in  impor- 
tance and  popularity  with  the  people.  The  high 
schools  have  been  aptly  called  the  "  Colleges  of  the 
Common  People."  It  may  assist  us  in  realizing 
the  great  progress  which  has  been  made  in  edu- 
cation in  this  country  if  we  remember  that  the 
course  of  study  given  by  the  present  average 
high  school  is  equivalent  to  the  course  main- 
tained by  Harvard  and  Yale  in  1750.  The 
service  of  the  high  school  in  stimulating  the 
work  of  the  grammar  school,  and  in  giving  the 
young  people  of  all  classes  an  opportunity  for 
higher  training  can  scarcely  be  overestimated. 

3.  Normal  Schools 

As  one  of  the  prominent  factors  in  the  present 
educational  system,  the  normal  schools  should 
not  be  overlooked.  They  have  been  established 
throughout  the  country,  and  have  been  making 
a  valuable  contribution  to  education  through 
the  many  boys  and  girls  whom  they  have 
trained  and  fitted  for  the  profession  of  teaching. 

4.  Universities  and  Colleges 

At  the  top  of  our  educational  system  are  the 
many  colleges  and  universities  of  the  land. 
Some  date  their  origin  back  to  colonial  days, 


110  A    TOPICAL    DISCUSSION 

others  have  been  established  during  the  national 
period  as  public  or  private  institutions.  Some 
of  the  most  important  institutions,  such  as  the 
Leland  Stanford  Junior  University  and  the 
University  of  Chicago,  have  been  established  in 
very  recent  years,  and  owe  their  foundation  to 
the  munificence  of  private  individuals.  The 
collective  influence  of  the  colleges  and  univer- 
sities upon  American  life  can  hardly  be  accu- 
rately determined.  They  are  becoming  a  more 
and  more  important  factor  in  raising  the  stan- 
dard of  American  life  and  education.  University 
and  college  graduates  are  not  only  engaging  in 
private  pursuits,  they  are  also  stepping  into 
hundreds  of  positions  in  the  primary  and  sec- 
ondary schools  of  the  land  and  raising  the 
standard  of  education. 


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Percy  or  the  Four  Inseparables,  by  M.  Lee 1  00 

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The  Western  Series  of  Readers 

edited   by   HARR    WAGNER 

Designed  ^specially  for  Supplementary  Work  in 

HISTORY   AND   NATURE   STUDY 

In  Our  Public  Schools 

All   Fully   and   Beautifully   Illustrated.       Each   Volume  Contains   from 
Eighteen  to  Twenty-Six   Full-Page   Pictures. 

EXTENSIVELY   ADOPTED    AND    USED    IN    THE   SCHOOLS    OF  THE   PACIFIC  COAST 


VOL.  I 

PACIFIC  HISTORY  STORIES 

By    HARR    WAGNER 

Fop  Fourth  and  Fifth  Grades 

During  the  short  time  that  this  book  has  been  on  the  market  its 
sale  has  been  phenomenal.  It  is  pronounced,  by  all  of  our  leading 
educators,  to  be  excellently  adapted  to  the  work  for  which  it  was 
intended— a  supplementary  reader  in  history  study  in  the  Fourth 
and  Fifth  Grades.  Fully  two  thirds  of  the  counties  in  California 
have  this  book  on  their  supplementary  and  library  list. 

VOL.  I! 

PACIFIC   NATURE   STORIES 

By  HARR  WAGNER  and  DAVID  S.  JORDAN  and  others 
Fop  Fourth  and  Fifth  Grades 

A  companion  volume  to  the  above.  It  contains  some  eighteen  most 
interesting  and  instructive  sketches  of  our  Western  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  all  told  in  a  delightfully  flowing  style  and  written  by 
the  greatest  educators  of  the  West.  As  a  reading  book  in  nature 
study  it  cannot  be  excelled. 

VOL.  Ill 

NATURE  STORIES  OF  THE  NORTHWEST 

By  HERBERT  BASHFORD 

State  librarian  of  Washington 

Fop  Sixth  and  Seventh  Grades 

This  book  covers  a  more  extended  field  than  Volume  II,  and  is  not 
strictly  confined  to  the  Northwest.  Among  the  interesting  stories 
will  be  found  those  of  The  Black  Bear,  The  Kingfisher,  The  Clam, 
The  Meadowlark,  The  Seals,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  of  interest  to  any 
pupil  in  the  West.  The  illustrations  are  works  of  art  and  true  to 
nature. 


VOL.  IV 

TALES  OF  DISCOVERY  ON  THE  PACIFIC  SLOPE 

By  MARGARET  GRAHAM  HOOD 

For  Third  and  Fourth  Grades 

The  Tale  of  History  could  not  be  more  charmingly  told  than  it  is  in 
this  volume,  which  is  intended  for  the  lower  grades.  A  Third  or 
Fourth  Grade  pupil  will  read  it  easily,  and  with  interest.  Its  eight 
chapters  are  devoted  to  the  early  history  of  our  great  Western 
empire,  and  tell  of  characters  and  events,  but  little  touched  upon  by 
the  general  school  history.  The  child  heie  acquires  a  taste  that 
leads  him  to  further  research. 

VOL.  V 

TALES  OF  OUR  NEW  POSSESSIONS,  THE  PHILIPPINES 

Written  by  R.  VAN  BERGEN 

A  Thirty-Year  resident  of  the  Orient 
Author  of  "Story  of  Japan,"  Etc. 

Illustrated  by  P.  N.  BOERINGER 

War    Artist     Correspondent    at    Manila 
for  San  Francisco  Papers 

For  the  Sixth,  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades 

A  timely  book  for  the  young.  We  employed  to  write  this  volume, 
a  man  whose  thirty-year  residence  in  the  Orient  made  him 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  people  and  their  customs.  Its  thirty- 
eight  chapters,  all  richly  illustrated  by  the  best  artist  we  could  secure, 
will  give  the  pupil  an  excellent  idea  of  our  new  country— 
a  knowledge  which  will  prove  of  great  financial  value  to  him. 


VOL.  VI 


STORIES  OF  OUR  MOTHER  EARTH 

By  HAROLD  W.  FAIRBANKS,  Ph.  D. 

Illustrated  by  MARY  H.  WELLMAN 

With  27  Full  Page  Illustrations.    An  Intensely  In- 
teresting and  Instructive  Work  on  Nature  Study 

For  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Grades 
Can  the  study  of  Geology  be  made  interesting  to  the  young?  It 
certainly  can  when  written  in  the  style  of  this  book.  It  contains 
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reading  like  a  story  book.  The  chapters  on  The  Yosemite  Valley , 
The  San  Francisco  Bay  and  The  Colorado  River  in  themselves  alone 
warrant  the  purchase  of  the  book. 

Complete  Descriptive  Circular,  giving  contents  of  each  volume, 
testimonials,  etc.,  sent  on  application. 

PRICES— School  Edition,  Bound  in  Board,  Leather  Back,  Net 50  cents 

library  Edition,  Bound  in  Cloth,  Net 60  cents 

PUBLISHED    BY 

THE   WHITAKER   &   RAY   CO. 

723  MARKET  STREET,   SAN   FRANCISCO. 


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